Objective  To understand the infection status of Arcobacter and its epidemiological characteristics in diarrhea cases in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, from 2018 to 2020.

  Methods  The information of diarrhea cases were collected from two sentinel hospitals in Shijiazhuang during 2018 to 2020. Enhanced membrane filter technique was used to isolate Arcobacter by using the stool samples collected from the cases. The isolates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF MS) and gene 16S rRNA were sequenced.

  Results  Among the 628 diarrhea cases, 17 were Arcobacter infections (2.71%). Eight strains of A. butzleri and 9 strains of A. cryaerophilus were identified from 17 strains of Arcobacter, accounting for 47.06% and 52.94%, respectively. All the cases were infected during June-October. One case was infant under age 1 year, the other 16 cases were all adults in different age groups, in whom those aged 21−30 years accounted for the highest proportion (29.41%). The infection rate of Arcobacter was higher in men than in women. Among the 17 cases, only 1 had fever, and 11 had nausea and abdominal pain. Watery stools were the most common (82.35%), the cases with diarrhea 3–5 times/day accounted for 64.71%, 8 times/day or more accounted for 23.53%. Most cases were infected by eating a variety of mixed foods prepared at home or purchased. Four cases were co-infected with other pathogens, accounting for 23.53%. The other pathogens included enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroaggregative E. coli, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus.

  Conclusion  Some of the bacterial diarrhea cases were caused by Arcobacter in Shijiazhuang. It is necessary to strengthen the surveillance and prevention.