Campylobacter infection in weanling ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) was studied as an animal model for enteric campylobacteriosis in persons. The screening of fecal cultures on selective campylobacter media showed that Campylobacter jejuni/coli was not present in the normal enteric flora. Intragastric feeding of a mixture of cat feed and 2.5 X 10(8) C jejuni isolated from ferrets with naturally occurring proliferative colitis was accomplished. All ferrets (n = 8) became infected on 3 days after they were inoculated, and at 5 to 7 days, they had bile-tinged, liquid feces with excessive mucus and blood. Ferrets gradually recovered from the diarrhea, and feces were normal 10 to 14 days after inoculation was done. Feces contained C jejuni at 14, 23, 28, 39, 46, 60, 91, 101, 109 and 144 days. In the second experiment, weanling ferrets initially were treated with 10% sodium bicarbonate, and 1 X 10(10) C jejuni organisms were administered in the cat feed. Diarrhea with fecal leukocytes and occult blood with occasional mucus appeared in almost all of the 21 ferrets from days 4 through 7. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from the blood of 11 ferrets between 3 hours and 14 days after they were inoculated. Campylobacter jejuni bactericidal antibodies were present in serum samples at 14 days, with titers of 1:16 to 1:32. Intestinal lesions including cellular infiltration with mononuclear and polymorphonuclear leukocytes were in the lamina propria of the pyloric mucosa and small intestine of infected and control ferrets. The colon of 3 infected ferrets had small focal infiltrates of neutrophils on the lamina propria; one ferret had perivascular cuffing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)