Campylobacteriosis

At a glance

No vaccine available – read more about prevention
Nationally notifiable disease

About campylobacteriosis

Campylobacteriosis (also called Campylobacter infection) is a type of gastroenteritis caused by Campylobacter bacteria.

It is usually spread through contaminated food, especially poultry.

Safe food practices and good hygiene are the best protection against campylobacteriosis.

Why it matters to public health

Campylobacteriosis is a leading cause of infectious diarrhoea worldwide, with millions of cases each year.

In Australia, campylobacteriosis is the most common detected foodborne infection. About 40,000 infections were reported in 2024.

It is usually mild, but can be life-threatening, especially for people at risk of severe illness.

Some strains of Campylobacter bacteria have evolved to become resistant to some antibiotics. This means that infections with these strains are harder to treat. Detecting these infections is critical to prevent further spread of resistant strains

Because of these major impacts, we:

monitor and report on confirmed cases in Australia
plan for how to manage outbreaks.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.

Symptoms are usually mild. Most people with campylobacteriosis recover in 1 to 2 weeks without treatment.

Symptoms can include:

diarrhoea, which may have blood or pus
fever and chills
cramping abdominal pain
nausea and sometimes vomiting
muscle aches
tiredness.

In some cases, complications can include:

severe dehydration 
infection of the bloodstream or other parts of the body
reactive arthritis
Guillain–Barre syndrome.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a health professional.

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms usually start between 2 and 5 days after getting infected. This can range from 1 to 10 days.

How it spreads

People are usually infected by eating raw or undercooked animal products, especially poultry.

Raw poultry juices can contaminate ready-to-eat foods – through kitchen benches, cloths or utensils (such as knives and chopping boards) that haven’t been cleaned properly.

People can also be infected if the bacteria enter their mouth through:

contaminated water
raw (unpasteurised) milk
contact with animals or their faeces – including pets
touching surfaces that have bacteria on them, such as nappies, taps or toilets
contact with an infected person (uncommon).

Rarely, transmission happens from a pregnant person to their baby – either during pregnancy or at the time of delivery.

Infectious period

People with campylobacteriosis are likely to be most infectious while they have diarrhoea.

People are less infectious once diarrhoea stops, but they might still be able to spread the disease for another 2 weeks or so.

Prevention

Protecting yourself

The best way to protect against infection is to safely prepare, handle, cook and store food.

It is important to avoid higher risk foods and drinks such as:

raw or undercooked meat – especially poultry
raw or undercooked eggs
unpasteurised milk products
untreated water.

Cook poultry to 75 °C in the centre or until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink.

It’s also important to practise good hand hygiene, especially after touching animals or if you are around somebody who is unwell.

Good hygiene and food safety practices are especially important if you are travelling overseas.

Protecting others

If you are diagnosed with campylobacteriosis, you should:

follow the advice of your healthcare professional
take care to practise good hand hygiene
avoid preparing food for others until 2 days after your symptoms have resolved.

Children with campylobacteriosis should not go to childcare until 1 day after their diarrhoea has stopped.

Read more ways to prevent campylobacteriosis.

Your state or territory recommendations may be different. Always follow your local government’s advice.

Priority groups and settings

People at greater risk of severe disease

Campylobacteriosis poses a greater risk of serious illness for:

babies and young children aged under 5 years
older adults
pregnant people
people who are immunocompromised.

People at greater risk of exposure

People might be at greater risk of exposure if they:

consume raw or undercooked poultry meat or other higher risk foods or drinks
are in contact with animals, their faeces or animal products – especially poultry
have contact with an infected person
travel overseas.

Settings

There are some priority settings where the risk of spread is higher. It is important to control outbreaks in:

food venues and catered events
early childhood education and care centres
residential care homes.

If you are at greater risk, it is especially important to take steps to protect yourself.

Diagnosis and treatment

Campylobacteriosis is diagnosed through a stool test.

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Most people recover within about a week with supportive care – such as adequate fluid intake.

Antibiotics are not usually needed for campylobacteriosis – and their unnecessary use can contribute to antimicrobial resistance. But healthcare professionals may prescribe antibiotics to people with:

severe symptoms
a higher risk of severe disease.

Read more about how to manage or treat campylobacteriosis.

Surveillance and reporting

Campylobacteriosis is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report new confirmed cases to us daily through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

We also collect and analyse data on campylobacteriosis through the OzFoodNet Network. This includes details about people’s food consumption history, travel and other risk factors.

This is part of our surveillance activities, which help us monitor national case numbers, understand disease patterns and identify outbreaks.

We analyse the data and report on case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.

Outbreaks

Outbreaks can happen when many people become infected, often from eating contaminated food from the same source.

State and territory health departments investigate outbreaks by:

interviewing people who have campylobacteriosis, or who might have been exposed
testing foods
assessing food handling procedures
working with food safety agencies and distributors to trace where the food came from.

Outbreak control measures might include:

providing education about safe food handling practices and hand hygiene
keeping food handlers with campylobacteriosis away from work
issuing public health orders to food businesses – this might include temporary restrictions
recalling contaminated food
sending out national or regional media alerts.

Read more about how the Australian Government plans for outbreaks.

Support

For information about campylobacteriosis in your state or territory, see:

If you need mental health support, see a list of organisations, websites and services that offer support, counselling and information.

For travel advice, see Smartraveller.