Because<unk>  is considered a commensal bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract in many animals, diagnosis of<unk>  can be cumbersome and laboratory results should be taken into consideration with regards to the context of the patient and other diagnostics. Vomiting, diarrhea, dysentery, fever, and abdominal pain are all common symptoms seen in Campylobacteriosis infections. Ruling out infectious diseases, underlying pathologies of other organ systems with blood chemistry panels, and obstructive disorders with radiographs are all elements of a thorough work-up in these cases. Preliminary diagnostics could include a gram stain fecal smear looking characteristic corkscrew-like motility and gram-negative staining. This only confirms the presence of Campylobacter-like-organisms to warrant further diagnostics. There are many laboratory testing methods that have been implemented for Campylobacter spp. Identification including culture based methods, biochemical testing, immunoassays, and molecular methods such as PCR and whole genome sequencing. Despite the vast array of methods available, no gold standard method of diagnostic test has been agreed upon, and each method has its benefits and drawbacks that should be considered within the scope of each case. Culture nethods For best isolation results, it is imperative that fecal samples be collected, refrigerated and sent to the diagnostic laboratory as soon as possible to maintain sample integrity. For rectal swabs, Amies or Cary-Blair transport mediums are recommended in order to protect the sample from toxic effects of oxygen on Campylobacter species. Traditionally, filtration methods have been used to help isolate<unk>  with filter pore size of 0.45 𝛍m in order to decrease contamination from other bacteria and fungi. There are limitations to this method however as samples with less than 105 CFU per gram of feces are not likely to be successfully isolated. Culture environments with 5-10% oxygen and 1-10% carbon dioxide at 37℃ is recommended. Selective medias with oxygen scavenging properties from blood or charcoal are generally used with additions of antibiotics like cefaperazone and antifungals. On blood agars like Skirrow’s media,<unk>  colonies appear smooth, pink, regular edged, shiny and convex. On charcoal agars, colonies appear flat, grey with a metallic sheen, and are likely to spread. Theoretically, culture methods are great for susceptibility testing to guide antimicrobial use in addition to its use in identification, however the lack of internationally accepted criteria limits susceptibility testing in this species. Biochemical tests<unk>  is a catalase negative species that can be further differentiated from other Campylobacter species by its inability to produce hydrogen sulfide on triple sugar iron as well as a positive oxidase test. Additionally it cannot hydrolyze hippurate like other species and is considered sensitive to nalidixic acid. Further strain identification may be warranted in epidemiological investigations and requires serotyping or molecular based methods. Immunoassays ELISA have been developed and utilized in commercial laboratories for Campylobacter species detection however it has been noted that cross reactivity between species remains an issue and validation for its use in diagnosis of campylobacteriosis in companion animals has not yet been confirmed. Molecular methods PCR methods including multiplex and real-time PCR are now routinely used for<unk>  identification and is being favoured for its rapid turnaround time not needing to undergo tedious culturing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) has also been implemented for diagnosis of<unk>  where seven fragments of “housekeeping” genes are amplified and cross referenced through a database. This has proven particularly useful for identifying particular strains which may be useful in epidemiological investigations. Other methods Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) is a diagnostic technology that utilizes mass spectrometry to identify many bacterial species including<unk>  and is becoming more commonly used as it is relatively inexpensive, more rapid than biochemical testing, and relatively accurate. Limitations to its use should be considered in the fact that bacterial culture must first be performed which as previously described, can be difficult with microaerophilic specifications for<unk> .
Campylobacter upsaliensis
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica
Campylobacter jejuni
Yersinia rohdei
Escherichia coli O157:H7
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli
Yersinia enterocolitica
Yersinia aleksiciae