title: Quantifying potential sources of surface water contamination with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.
abstract: Campylobacter is the most common causative agent of human bacterial gastroenteritis and is frequently found in surface water, where it indicates recent contamination with animal faeces, sewage effluent, and agricultural run-off. The contribution of different animal reservoirs to surface water contamination with Campylobacter is largely unknown. In the Netherlands, the massive poultry culling to control the 2003 avian influenza epidemic coincided with a 44-50% reduction in human campylobacteriosis cases in the culling areas, suggesting substantial environment-mediated spread of poultry-borne Campylobacter. We inferred the origin of surface water Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as defined by multilocus sequence typing, by comparison to strains from poultry, pigs, ruminants, and wild birds, using the asymmetric island model for source attribution. Most Luxembourgish water strains were attributed to wild birds (61.0%), followed by poultry (18.8%), ruminants (15.9%), and pigs (4.3%); whereas the Dutch water strains were mainly attributed to poultry (51.7%), wild birds (37.3%), ruminants (9.8%), and pigs (1.2%). Attributions varied over seasons and surface water types, and geographical variation in the relative contribution of poultry correlated with the magnitude of poultry production at either the national or provincial level, suggesting that environmental dissemination of Campylobacter from poultry farms and slaughterhouses can be substantial in poultry-rich regions.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: lapo.mughini.gras@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Lapo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mughini-Gras
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Penny
authors.affiliation: National Health Laboratory (LNS), Surveillance and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, 1 rue Louis Rech, Dudelange L-3555, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ragimbeau
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Franciska M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Schets
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hetty
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blaak
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands; WHO-Collaborating Center for Campylobacter and OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis, Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Birgitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duim
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands; Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR, Houtribweg 39, 8221 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands; WHO-Collaborating Center for Campylobacter and OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis, Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wagenaar
authors.affiliation: Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR, Houtribweg 39, 8221 RA Lelystad, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Boer
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Environmental Research and Innovation, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Henry-Michel
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cauchie
authors.affiliation: National Health Laboratory (LNS), Surveillance and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, 1 rue Louis Rech, Dudelange L-3555, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mossong
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wilfrid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Pelt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002167:Campylobacter; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D017000:Campylobacter coli; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni; D006801:Humans; D011200:Poultry / Q000382:microbiology; D013552:Swine
keywords: Campylobacter; Environmental water; Pollution microbiology; Poultry; Wild birds