The microbiological and clinical characteristics of 1,204 human cases of Aliarcobacter spp. infections - RESEARCH Open Access

Sep 30, 2026

Aliarcobacter spp. bacteria are human enteropathogens, but the epidemiology of these infections has not been well characterized. This study compiles microbiological and clinical data from 1,204 Aliarcobacter spp. infections in France across 2002–2024. Aliarcobacter butzleri was the main species, followed by A. cryaerophilus. Infections concentrated in patients over 60 years, mostly men, particularly in autumn. Clinical information showed diarrhea and abdominal pain with fever or blood in stool only rarely, and many isolates were resistant to group A penicillins and ciprofloxacin.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages8

Reading Time20 min

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Abstract

Background

Correspondence

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Jauvain etal. Gut Pathogens (2026) 18:5 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-025-00790-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-025-00790-5) Gut Pathogens RESEARCH Open Access The microbiological and clinical characteristics of 1,204 human cases of Aliarcobacter spp. infections that occurred in France between 2002 and 2024 Marine Jauvain 1,2,3, Lucie Bruhl 1, Astrid Ducournau 1, Johanna Aptel 1, Moeava Martin 1,2,3 and Philippe Lehours 1,2,3* Abstract Aliarcobacter spp. bacteria are human enteropathogens, as are Campylobacter spp. However, the epidemiology of the former infections is not well described. Here, we present microbiological and clinical data on 1,204 Aliarcobacter spp. infections that occurred in France between 2002 and 2024. Aliarcobacter butzleri was the principal species identified, followed by A. cryaerophilus. Aliarcobacter spp. infections affected patients principally over 60 years of age, mostly men, particularly during autumn. Analysis of 253 clinical information sheets highlighted both diarrhea and abdominal pain that were only rarely associated with fever or blood in the stool. Many isolates of both main species were resistant to group A penicillins and ciprofloxacin. Background Aliarcobacter spp. are Gram-negative bacteria closely related to Campylobacter spp. but that grow at lower temperatures than the latter in the presence of oxygen. Aliarcobacter genus currently includes 17 species ([https](https)://[lpsn.dsmz.de/search? word=aliarcobacter](lpsn.dsmz.de/search? word=aliarcobacter)) [1–3]. Aliarcobacter spp. tolerate high sodium concentrations, multiply during refrigeration, resist desiccation, and adhere to many surfaces. The most significant human pathogen, Aliarcobacter butzleri, can grow at low temperatures (4–10 °C) and survive under various storage conditions [4]. *Correspondence: Philippe Lehours [philippe.lehours@u-bordeaux.fr](philippe.lehours@u-bordeaux.fr) 1Laboratoire de Bactériologie, CHU de Bordeaux, CHU Pellegrin, CNR des Campylobacters et des Hélicobacters, Place Amélie Raba Léon, Bordeaux Cedex 33076, France 2INSERM U1312, UMR BRIC-Team 4, Bordeaux, France 3Univerité de Bordeaux, Bordeaux 33000, France Aliarcobacter spp. are potentially present in farm animals; poultry; reptiles; animal-derived foods (meat, dairy products, and seafood); vegetables; and water [5–12]. Most transmission may involve contaminated food and water. Animals, including pets, may play roles in fecaloral transmission. Infections caused by contaminated food (plants, chicken, pork) or water have been described [9, 13–17]. A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, A. skirrowii, and A. cibarius have been isolated from the stools of both healthy animals and those with mastitis, and pigs with gastric ulcers or reproductive abnormalities [18, 19]. The three main species associated with human infections are A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, and A. skirrowii [14, 20, 21]. Arguello et al., proposed that men over 85 years of age were the primary human target of Aliarcobacter spp. A. butzleri has been associated with enteritis, as have A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii, but rarely with bacteremia [22, 23]. In the past, Aliarcobacter spp. were described as causative agents of travel diarrhea [24]. Although A. butzleri shares © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line

FAQs

What time period and setting were covered for the 1,204 cases?

The cases occurred in France between 2002 and 2024 and were identified by French medical biology laboratories within the National Reference Center surveillance network.

Which Aliarcobacter species were most frequently identified?

Aliarcobacter butzleri was the principal species, followed by A. cryaerophilus.

What were the common clinical symptoms and their relationship to fever or blood in stool?

Diarrhea and abdominal pain were common, while fever or blood in the stool were only rarely associated with these infections.

Sep 30, 2026

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