Isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from an appendix.

Campylobacter jejuni Skirrow biotype 1, Lior serotype 8 was isolated from the appendix of an 11-year-old boy who had a 6-h history of acute abdominal pain. Histological diagnosis on the appendix section was early acute appendicitis. Dilute carbol fuchsin stain and indirect fluorescent antibody test performed on the appendix section also revealed the presence of Campylobacter sp. The patient developed a significant bactericidal antibody titer of 1,024, providing substantial clinical evidence of the pathogenicity of the isolate. This case indicated that not only may abdominal pain caused by Campylobacter enteritis mimic appendicitis, but the organism may actually be recovered from the infected appendix.