TY - JOUR AU - Evans, Meirion R. AU - Ribeiro, C. Donald AU - Salmon, Roland L. T1 - Hazards of Healthy Living: Bottled Water and Salad Vegetables as Risk Factors for Campylobacter Infection T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2003 VL - 9 IS - 10 SP - 1219 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, yet the etiology of this infection remains only partly explained. In a retrospective cohort study, we compared 213 sporadic campylobacter case-patients with 1,144 patients with negative fecal samples. Information was obtained on food history, animal contact, foreign travel, leisure activities, medical conditions, and medication use. Eating chicken, eating food from a fried chicken outlet, eating salad vegetables, drinking bottled water, and direct contact with cows or calves were all independently associated with infection. The population-attributable fractions for these risk factors explained nearly 70% of sporadic campylobacter infections. Eating chicken is a well-established risk factor, but consuming salad and bottled water are not. The association with salad may be explained by cross-contamination of food within the home, but the possibility that natural mineral water is a risk factor for campylobacter infection could have wide public health implications. KW - United Kingdom DO - 10.3201/eid0910.020823 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/10/02-0823_article ER - End of Reference