A combined case-control and molecular source attribution study of human Campylobacter infections in Germany, 2011–2014

Abstract

Campylobacter infection is the most commonly notified bacterial enteritis in Germany. We performed a large combined case-control and source attribution study (Nov 2011-Feb 2014) to identify risk factors for sporadic intestinal Campylobacter infections and to determine the relative importance of various animal sources for human infections in Germany. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors. Source attribution analysis was performed using the asymmetric island model based on MLST data of human and animal/food isolates. As animal sources we considered chicken, pig, pet dog or cat, cattle, and poultry other than chicken. Consumption of chicken meat and eating out were the most important risk factors for Campylobacter infections. Additional risk factors were preparation of poultry meat in the household; preparation of uncooked food and raw meat at the same time; contact with poultry animals; and the use of gastric acid inhibitors. The mean probability of human C. jejuni isolates to originate from chickens was highest (74%), whereas pigs were a negligible source for C. jejuni infections. Human C. coli isolates were likely to originate from chickens (56%) or from pigs (32%). Efforts need to be intensified along the food chain to reduce Campylobacter load, especially on chicken meat.

Mining Whole Genome Sequence data to efficiently attribute individuals to source populations

“…1, MMD estimated that most cases (61%) were associated with chicken whilst wild birds and pigs were relatively unimportant (< 8% for both sources). This is in line with a number of previous source attribution studies for human campylobacteriosis [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] .…”

“…Attributing or assigning individuals to a source population is important within many disciplines including ecology, anthropology, infectious diseases and forensics 1,2 . For instance, assignment tests have been applied to identify the origin of individuals in ecosystems [3][4][5][6][7] , infectious diseases [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] , animals used for trade 5 or the geographical origin of humans [20][21][22] or plants 23 . A common strategy to attribute individuals to populations consists in comparing the genotype of the individual with the genetic profiles of defined source populations (e.g.…”

“…1). For instance, highly variable genetic markers such as microsatellites [3][4][5][6][7] or genes 8,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]24 and more recently single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) 25 have been used for source attribution. The question is to decide which approach is most appropriate for the particular problem in terms of computation time and assignment accuracy.…”

Proximity to Other Commercial Turkey Farms Affects Colonization Onset, Genotypes, and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Campylobacter spp. in Turkeys: Suggestive Evidence from a Paired-Farm Model

“…KEYWORDS Campylobacter, antimicrobial resistance, colonization, genotype, turkey C ampylobacter is a leading zoonotic foodborne pathogen, with an estimated 0.8 million cases of human disease annually in the United States alone (1). Contaminated poultry products are considered a major vehicle for human campylobacteriosis (2)(3)(4). In the United States and other industrialized nations, Campylobacter jejuni is implicated in the majority (approximately 85%) of human campylobacteriosis cases, with Campylobacter coli accounting for most of the remaining cases (1,5).…”

Mixed Aetiology of Diarrhoea in Infants Attending Clinics in the North-West Province of South Africa: Potential for Sub-Optimal Treatment

“…Diarrhoea is the most common clinical manifestation of gastrointestinal diseases and is defined as the frequent discharge of unformed, loose, or watery stool, usually three or more times in 24 h [1,2]. Diarrhoea is associated with a high morbidity and mortality and is among the leading causes of the and may not be as sufficiently sensitive as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays [32].…”