Safepath Campylobacter

The SafePath™ Campylobacter assay is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that may be used to screen food products for the presence of thermophilic Campylobacter antigen.

Infection by thermophilic Campylobacter species is a leading cause of human gastroenteritis. Of the various species of Campylobacter, C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari, are the species most often associated with human illness. Campylobacter are often passed to humans through the handling or consumption of contaminated food, particularly foods of animal origin.

Recently, human infection with Campylobacter has been implicated in the induction of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and reactive arthritis. GBS is a debilitating and potentially fatal neurological disease that produces paralysis.

Campylobacter species are gram negative, motile curved or spiral rods that require highly specialized growth conditions. Typical cultivation entails pre-enrichment and enrichment steps in broth, followed by isolation on a selective solid medium. Of particular importance in the cultivation of Campylobacter is the requirement for a microaerobic atmosphere.

Cultivation of thermophilic Campylobacter species from foods involves multiple media steps, and thus many days. The SafePath™ Campylobacter Microwell ELISA allows rapid testing (less than an hour) of the enrichment broth, thus eliminating the need for the plating and identification steps used in the standard methods. The SafePath™ Campylobacter Microwell ELISA reduces time to result by several days.

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Safepath Campylobacter