Posted: July 25th, 2011 - 8:37pm by Doug Powell

What started out as an apparent outbreak of campylobacter has now led to 24 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome in southwestern Arizona and a neighboring community in Mexico

NewsTimes reports Shoana Anderson, chief of infectious diseases at the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the outbreak is suspected to have been triggered by a foodborne illness known as campylobacter.

Guillain-Barre triggers the immune system to attack nerves. The illness isn't contagious. The paralysis is temporary, but patients can suffer nerve damage.

Patients in all 24 cases suffered varying degrees of paralysis.