Severe diarrhoea caused by highly ciprofloxacin-susceptible Campylobacter isolates

The impact of fluoroquinolone resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates on the outcome of the disease in sporadic Campylobacter infections of Finnish individuals was studied. Questionnaires were sent, during a 6-month study period, to patients who were stool culture-positive for Campylobacter spp. In total, 192 returned questionnaires were analysed and assessed, together with the susceptibility data of the respective bacterial isolates. Only one (2%) of the domestic, but half of the imported, Campylobacter isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin resistance was not associated with particularly severe infection. Instead, ciprofloxacin-susceptible Campylobacter isolates, as compared to ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates, showed a tendency to cause more severe infections, characterized by bloody stools and hospitalization.