Campylobacter species are commonly transmitted to humans through consumption of contaminated foods such as milk and meat. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and genetic determinants of resistance of Campylobacter isolated from raw milk and beef carcasses in Tanzania. The antimicrobial resistance genes tested included bla OXA-61 (ampicillin), aph-3-1 (aminoglycoside), tet(O) (tetracycline), and cmeB (multi-drug efflux pump). The prevalence of Campylobacter was 9.5% in beef carcasses and 13.4% in raw milk, respectively. Using multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we identified 58.1% of the isolates as Campylobacter jejuni, 30.7% as Campylobacter coli, and 9.7% as other Campylobacter spp. One isolate (1.6%) was positive for both C. jejuni and C. coli specific PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the disk diffusion assay and the broth microdilution method showed resistance to: ampicillin (63% and 94.1%), ciprofloxacin (9.3% and 11.8%), erythromycin (53.7% and 70.6%), gentamicin (0% and 15.7%), streptomycin (35.2% and 84.3%), and tetracycline (18.5% and 17.7%), respectively. Resistance to azithromycin (42.6%), nalidixic acid (64.8%), and chloramphenicol (13%) was determined using the disk diffusion assay only, while resistance to tylosin (90.2%) was quantified using the broth microdilution method. The bla OXA-61 (52.6% and 28.1%), cmeB (26.3% and 31.3%), tet(O) (26.3% and 31.3%), and aph-3-1 (5.3% and 3.0%) were detected in C. coli and C. jejuni. These findings highlight the extent of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter occurring in important foods in Tanzania. The potential risks to consumers emphasize the need for adequate control approaches, including the prudent use of antimicrobials to minimize the spread of antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter.

Foodborne Campylobacter infections pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. However, the occurrence and characteristics of Campylobacter in food animals and products remain largely unknown in Tanzania. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and genetic profiles (sequence types, STs) of Campylobacter isolated from feces of pigs and dairy and beef cattle in Tanzania. Overall, 259 (~30%) of 864 samples were positive for Campylobacter spp, which were detected in 32.5, 35.4, and 19.6% of the pig, dairy, and beef cattle samples, respectively. Multiplex PCR analysis identified 64.5 and 29.3% of the Campylobacter isolates as C. coli and C. jejuni, respectively. The majority (91.9%) of the isolates from pig samples were identified as C. coli, while C. jejuni accounted for 65.5% of the isolates from cattle. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the disk diffusion assay and the broth microdilution method revealed resistance to: ampicillin (Amp) (70.3% and 75.7%, respectively), gentamicin (Gen) (1.8% and 12.6%), streptomycin (Str) (65.8 and 74.8%), erythromycin (Ery) (41.4 and 48.7%), tetracycline (Tet) (18.9 and 23.4%), and ciprofloxacin (Cip) (14.4 and 7.2%). Resistance to nalidixic acid (Nal) (39.6%), azithromycin (Azm) (13.5%), and chloramphenicol (Chl) (4.5%) was determined using the disk diffusion assay only, while resistance to tylosin (Tyl) (38.7%) was quantified using the broth microdilution method. Multilocus sequence typing of 111 Campylobacter isolates resulted in the identification of 48 STs (26 C. jejuni and 22 C. coli) of which seven were novel (six C. jejuni and one C. coli). Taken together, this study revealed the high prevalence, genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter in important food animals in Tanzania, which highlights the urgent need for the surveillance and control of Campylobacter in this country.

Poultry are recognized as a main reservoir of Campylobacter spp. However, longitudinal studies investigating the persistence of Campylobacter on commercial meat turkeys are rare. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and persistence of genotypically related strains of Campylobacter spp. recovered from three commercial turkey farms in Ohio belonging to a single producer. Eight hundred ten samples were collected from birds aged 1 week to slaughter, consisting of 750 fecal droppings and 60 ceca at slaughter. Overall Campylobacter prevalence was 55.9%. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed 72.3% of all isolates as C. coli, 5.3% as C. jejuni, 10.6% as both, and 11.9% as other Campylobacter spp. PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism of the flaA gene subtyping detected 70 types-62 for C. coli and 8 for C. jejuni isolates-with most (80%) of flaA-types constituting farm homogeneous groups. Multilocus sequence typing of 99 selected Campylobacter isolates resulted in 23 sequence types (STs), consisting of 8 STs for C. jejuni and 15 STs for C. coli isolates. Six novel STs-four for C. jejuni and two-for C. coli, were detected. In a subset of isolates (n = 98) tested for antimicrobial resistance, the most common resistance was to tetracycline (95%), followed by azithromycin (43%), while 42% and 18% of the isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to florfenicol. C. coli isolates displayed a higher proportion of resistance than C. jejuni to most antimicrobials. This study highlights the high prevalence, genotypic diversity, and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. in commercial turkey from farm to slaughter.

BackgroundCampylobacter jejuni is commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of many food-animals including sheep without causing visible clinical symptoms of disease. However, C. jejuni has been implicated in ovine abortion cases worldwide. Specifically, in the USA, the C. jejuni sheep abortion (SA) clone has been increasingly associated with sheep abortion. In vivo studies in sheep (the natural host) are needed to better characterize the virulence potential and pathogenesis of this clone.ResultsPregnant ewes intravenously (IV) or orally inoculated with ovine or bovine abortion-associated C. jejuni SA clones exhibited partial or complete uterine prolapse with retained placenta, and abortion or stillbirth, whereas delivery of healthy lambs occurred in pregnant ewes inoculated with C. jejuni 81–176 or in the uninfected group. In sheep inoculated with the SA clone, histopathological lesions including suppurative necrotizing placentitis and/or endometritis coincided with: 1) increased apoptotic death of trophoblasts, 2) increased expression of the host genes (e.g. genes encoding interleukin IL-6 and IL-15) related to cellular necrosis and pro-inflammatory responses in uterus, and 3) decreased expression of the genes encoding GATA binding protein 6, chordin, and insulin-like 3 (INSL3) that account for embryonic development in uterus. Immunohistochemistry revealed localization of bacterial antigens in trophoblasts lining the chorioallantoic membrane of ewes inoculated with the C. jejuni SA clone.ConclusionsThe results showed that C. jejuni SA clones are capable of causing abortion or stillbirth in experimentally infected sheep. Furthermore, down- or up-regulation of specific genes in the uterus of infected pregnant ewes might implicate host genes in facilitating the disease progression. Since the C. jejuni SA strains share genotypic similarities with clones that have been isolated from human clinical cases of gastroenteritis, these strains might represent a potential public health risk.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-014-0274-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We investigated the implied health benefits of retail chicken breast labeled as "organic" or "antibiotic-free" when compared to conventional products based on frequency of contamination by Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and coliform bacteria resistant to fluoroquinolones, extended-spectrum cephalosporins, or carbapenems. We purchased 231 prepackaged chicken breasts from 99 grocery stores representing 17 retail chains in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania from June to September 2012. Ninety-six (41.5%) packages were labeled "antibiotic free" and 40 (17.3%) were labeled "organic," with the remaining 95 (41.1%) making neither label claim. Salmonella were recovered from 56 (24.2%) packages, and the recovery rate was not different between product types. Five percent of packages contained Salmonella carrying the extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance gene bla(CMY-2), representing 21.4% of Salmonella isolates. Campylobacter spp. were recovered from 10.8% of packages, with observed recovery rates similar for the three product types. Using selective media, we recovered Escherichia coli harboring bla(CMY-2) from over half (53.7%) of packages, with similar recovery rates for all product types. In addition, we recovered E. coli carrying bla(CTX-M) from 6.9% of packages, and E. coli with QRDR mutations from 8.2% of packages. Fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli recovered using selective media were more common (p<0.05) in conventional (18.9%) compared to organic (0) and antibiotic-free (2.1%) packages. Our results indicate that, regardless of product type, fresh retail chicken breast is commonly contaminated with enteric pathogens associated with foodborne illness and commensal bacteria harboring genes conferring resistance to critically important antimicrobial drugs.

Several findings on the semen characteristics of domestic chickens have revealed that ecotype and age significantly affect semen quality. There is, however, lack of data on effects of ecotype and age on semen characteristics of Tanzanian native roosters. This study evaluated the effect of ecotypes (Ching’wekwe, Morogoro-medium and Kuchi) and ages (11-15 and 24-28 months) on semen quality. A total of 192 semen samples were collected from 12 roosters (four from each ecotype) using the abdominal massage technique at weekly interval for four consecutive months. Semen characteristics of individual samples were evaluated. The semen volume, pH, sperm motility, sperm concentration, proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology and proportion of live spermatozoa among the ecotypes varied from 0.42±0.04 to 0.52±0.03mL, 7.01±0.00 to 7.02±0.00, 72.81±1.27 to 76.63±1.35%, 3.90±0.98 to 4.12±1.96 x 109/mL, 86.16±0.55 to 89.38±0.80% and 88.06±1.13 to 90.97±0.81% respectively. However, only the variations in proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology and proportion of live spermatozoa among the ecotypes were significant (P<0.05). The semen volume, pH, sperm motility, sperm concentration, proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology and proportion of live spermatozoa among the two age groups varied from 0.44±0.03 to 0.52±0.03mL, 7.01±0.00 to 7.02±0.00, 73.88±1.13 to75.92±0.99%, 3.80±0.45 to 4.28±0.32 x 109/mL, 87.02±0.58 to 88.15±0.64%, 88.27±0.77 to 89.83±0.77% respectively. However, only the variations in semen volume among the two age groups were significant (P<0.05). The Pearson correlation coefficients between semen volume and other semen quality characteristics were mostly low to medium with positive values ranging from 0.01-0.51 between semen volume and sperm motility and between morphological normal spermatozoa and proportion of live spermatozoa, respectively. Although there is minimal variation in semen quality among ecotypes and age groups, all the ecotypes might still be used in breeding purposes to maintain native chickens, because the results found were within the reference range for chickens.

Introduction: food safety concerns in poultry processing 2 Common foodborne pathogens associated with poultry 3 Effects of processing operations on carcass contamination: from live transportation to carcass washing 4 Effects of processing operations on carcass contamination: chilling and post-chill processing 5 Regulatory standards for food safety management during poultry slaughter 6 GMP and the HACCP system 7 Antimicrobial treatments used in poultry slaughter: chemical and biological treatments 8 Antimicrobial treatments used in poultry slaughter: physical treatments 9 Assessing the efficacy of pathogen reduction systems: microbial testing 10 Conclusions 11 Where to look for further information 12 References

Background: Three dairy farms were investigated for occurrence of retained placenta and subclinical mastitis, and the economic impacts attributable to the conditions. Reproductive performance data from 1169 calvings of dairy cows for five consecutive years spanning from 2014 to 2018 were used in this study. A total of 167 cows were screened with the California Mastitis Test (CMT), and udder quarters with CMT score of ≥ 3 (scale 1–5) were milk sampled for culture and final bacteriological identification. Results: Overall prevalences of subclinical mastitis and retained fetal membranes were 35.93% and 10.35%, respectively. The prevalence of bacterial isolates at animal level was 38.92%. Individual bacteria prevalence rates were 66.15% for Staphylococcus aureus, 13.85% for Escherichia coli, 6.15% for Bacillus spp., 6.15% for Streptococcus agalactiae and 7.69% for none typed microorganisms. Overall loss from subclinical mastitis was estimated at 10,603,800/= Tanzanian shillings (Tshs) equivalent to USD $ 4,700 with major losses (81.75%) attributable to the production loss followed by treatment expenditure (18.25%). Average loss attributed to mastitis per quarter was estimated at 49,320/= Tshs (USD $21.5). Retained placenta resulted in an increase (P<0.05) in the period from parturition to conception (148.7 vs. 96.0 days), number of services per conception (2.9 vs. 1.9) and calving interval (434.7 vs. 374.0 days). Conclusion: These findings point out to the economic importance of subclinical mastitis and retained fetal membranes in the dairy industry. This calls for improved milking hygiene, proper attention to health of mammary glands, regular screening tests and application of biosecurity measures as intervention strategies to lower the prevalence of subclinical mastitis and minimize the spread of pathogens in dairy farms. Since retained fetal membrane is an important problem causing great economic losses, appropriate control measures have to be instituted including cow comfort, proper immunization and careful nutritional management (mineral supplementation), particularly during the transition period.