title: Isolation and Identification of Arcobacter Species from Costa Rican Poultry Production and Retail Sources.
abstract: Arcobacter is a gram-negative rod recognized as a potential food- and waterborne pathogen; nevertheless, little is known about the effects of this pathogen on human and animal health. Although Arcobacter species are commonly found in nature, poultry is suspected to be the main vehicle for the transmission of this pathogen. The aims of this work were to determine the prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in broilers produced in Costa Rica for human consumption and to analyze the pathogenic capacity of the isolates through the detection of virulence genes. One hundred fifty-two samples of cecal content (87 farms), 104 samples of carcass rinse after chiller (six processing plants), and 96 carcass rinses from as many retail stores were analyzed. The suspicious isolates were identified using genus-specific PCR, and species-level identification was achieved with a multiplex PCR. Virulence genes were identified using the protocol described by L. Douidah, L. de Zutter, J. Baré, P. De Vos, P. Vandamme, O. Vandenberg, A.-M. Van den Abeele, and K. Houf (J. Clin. Microbiol. 50:735-741, 2012), which includes nine different virulence genes. The overall isolation frequency of Arcobacter was 6.5% (n = 23). Eight (34.8%) of the isolates came from cecal content, 2 (8.7%) were isolated from samples taken after chiller, and 13 (56.5%) were from retail stores. The species isolated included A. thereius (30.4%), A. butzleri (21.7%), A. skirrowii (4.3%), and A. cibarius (4.3%). The remaining samples were classified as Arcobacter sp. Gene tlyA was the most prevalent virulence gene, present in 9 of 23 samples analyzed; genes hecA and pldA were present in one only strain each. A strain of A. butzleri isolated from a retail store presented the highest number of virulence genes (five), and 11 samples did not present any of the genes analyzed. The results obtained suggest that the presence of virulent Arcobacter isolates in the poultry production chain from Costa Rica could be a risk for individuals who consume the contaminated product.
authors.affiliation: Tropical Disease Research Center and Food Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Microbiology, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Karol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barboza
authors.affiliation: Tropical Disease Research Center and Food Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Microbiology, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Angulo
authors.affiliation: Veterinary School, Universidad Nacional, 40101 Heredia, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Leana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zumbado
authors.affiliation: Tropical Disease Research Center and Food Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Microbiology, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Redondo-Solano
authors.affiliation: Medical Sciences University (UCIMED), 10103 San Jose, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Tropical Disease Research Center and Food Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Microbiology, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: María Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Arias
keywords: 
            Arcobacter
          ; Chicken production line; Virulence genes