Campylobacter meningitis in childhood

The spectrum of illnesses which can result from Campylobacter infection has been recognized only recently.1 2 Campylobacter spp. are now recognized as major causes of gastroenteritis3’4 and a wide variety of extraintestinal complications has been reported.1,5 Meningitis due to Campylobacter infection is an un-common event, however. Two reviews of the world’s literature, each published in 1979,5’6 contained a total of 15 cases of meningitis due to Campylobacter. Of these 15 cases 9 occurred in children, with 7 presenting in the neonatal period. Since the time of those reviews only one additional case in a neonate7 and another in an adult8 have been reported to our knowledge. We report here the 11th case of Campylobacter meningitis in childhood. This case is unusual in terms of its mild nature and benign outcome, most previous cases having resulted in death or severe sequelae.