title: Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. isolated from poultry carcasses in Poland.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry carcasses at slaughter in Poland. For the isolated strains, resistance to selected antibiotics and the associated genetic determinants were identified. A total of 498 Campylobacter isolates were obtained from 802 poultry samples during the 2-year study period. Strains were identified to species with the PCR method; 53.6% of the strains were Campylobacter jejuni and 46.4% were Campylobacter coli. A high percentage of the tested Campylobacter strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid (74.1 and 73.5%, respectively) followed by tetracycline (47.4%) and streptomycin (20.5%). Only one C. jejuni and two C. coli isolates were resistant to gentamicin. Seventy-nine (15.9%) of the 498 strains were resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics examined. Higher levels of resistance, irrespective of the antimicrobial agent tested, were found within the C. coli group. Almost all strains resistant to quinolones (99.5%) and to tetracycline (99.6%) carried the Thr-86-to-Ile mutation in the gyrA gene and possessed the tet(O) marker, respectively. All isolates resistant to erythromycin had the A2075G mutation in the 23S rRNA gene. These results reveal that poultry carcasses in Poland are a reservoir of potentially pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter strains for humans, which may pose a public health risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene of Food of Animal Origin, National Veterinary Research Institute, Partyzantow 57, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland. kinga.wieczorek@piwet.pulawy.pl
authors.forename: Kinga
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wieczorek
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kania
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Osek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017000:Campylobacter coli / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009268:Nalidixic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011200:Poultry / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005839:Gentamicins; D009268:Nalidixic Acid; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D004917:Erythromycin; D013752:Tetracycline