title: Identification and antimicrobial resistance of campylobacter species isolated from animal sources.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Campylobacter spp. are together with Salmonella spp. the leading causes of human bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. The most commonly isolated species in humans are Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli. The isolation, identification, and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. from poultry and raw meat from slaughterhouses, has been investigated for the first time in Greece. During the period from August 2005 to November 2008 a total of 1080 samples were collected: (a) 830 fecal samples from five poultry farms, (b) 150 cecal samples from chicken carcasses in a slaughterhouse, and (c) 100 fecal samples from one pig farm near the region of Attica. The identification of the isolates was performed with conventional (sodium hippurate hydrolysis and commercial identification system (Api CAMPY system, bioMerieux, France), as well as with and molecular methods based on 16S rRNA species specific gene amplification by PCR and subsequent sequence analysis of the PCR products.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen Campylobacter strains were isolated, all collected from the poultry farms. None of the strains was identified as C. jejuni. Antimicrobial susceptibility to six antimicrobials was performed and all the strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and gentamicin. Thirteen out of 14 C. coli were resistant to erythromycin and all C. coli strains were resistant to ampicillin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results emphasize the need for a surveillance and monitoring system with respect to the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter in poultry, as well as for the use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine in Greece.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopathology and Clinical Microbiology, Medical School, Aeginition Hospital, University of Athens Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marinou
authors.forename: Sotiris
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bersimis
authors.forename: Anastassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ioannidis
authors.forename: Chryssoula
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicolaou
authors.forename: Angeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mitroussia-Ziouva
authors.forename: Nicholaos John
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Legakis
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chatzipanagiotou