Seroprevalence of campylobacteriosis and relevant post-infectious sequelae

Post-infectious sequelea such as Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS), reactive arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may arise as a consequence of acute Campylobacter-enteritis (AE). However, reliable seroprevalence data of Campylobacter-associated sequelae has not been established. The objectives of this study were, first, to identify the most specific and sensitive test antigen in an optimized ELISA assay for diagnosing a previous Campylobacter-infection and, second, to compare the prevalence of anti-Campylobacter antibodies in cohorts of healthy blood donors (BD), AE, GBS, RA, and IBD patients with antibodies against known GBS, RA and IBD triggering pathogens. Optimized ELISAs of single and combined Campylobacter-proteins OMP18 and P39 as antigens were prepared and sera from AE, GBS, RA and IBD patients and BD were tested for Campylobcter-specific IgA and IgG antibodies. The results were compared with MIKROGEN™-recomLine Campylobacter IgA/IgG and whole cell lysate-immunoblot. Antibodies specific for Helicobacter pylori, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Borrelia afzelii were tested with commercial immunoblots. ROC plot analysis revealed AUC maxima in the combination of OMP18 and P39 for IgA and in the P39-antigen for IgG. As a result, 34–49 % GBS cases, 44–62 % RA cases and 23–40 % IBD cases were associated with Campylobacter-infection. These data show that Campylobcater-seropositivity in these patient groups is significantly higher than other triggering pathogens suggesting that it plays an important role in development of GBS and RA, and supports the hypothesis that recurrent acute campylobacteriosis triggers IBD.