Does Whipworm Increase the Pathogenicity ofCampylobacter jejuni?A Clinical Correlate of an Experimental Observation

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuniis a leading cause of acute diarrhea worldwide, usually mild and self-limiting. No adequate hypothesis has yet been formulated to explain why in an otherwise healthy host this infection is occasionally severe. In a pig model,C jejunihas been shown to be pathogenic only in the presence of swine whipworm. A human case of life-threateningC jejunicolitis leading to toxic megacolon and acute renal failure, associated with concomitant whipworm (Trichuris suis) ova in the feces, is reported. The potential of T suis to potentiateC jejuniin humans deserves further study.