Characterization and Prevalence of Campylobacter spp. From Broiler Chicken Rearing Period to the Slaughtering Process in Eastern China

Abstract

Campylobacter is one of the most important foodborne pathogens worldwide, and poultry is regarded as the main reservoir of Campylobacter. The contamination of Campylobacter in broiler chickens at the farm level is closely related to the transmission of Campylobacter in the poultry production chain. This study identified 464 Campylobacter isolates from 1,534 samples from broiler rearing period and slaughtering process including 233 Campylobacter jejuni isolates and 231 Campylobacter coli isolates. We have observed a dynamic distribution of Campylobacter during broiler chicken production, that 66.3% of Campylobacter isolates were C. jejuni during broiler rearing period, while C. coli occupied 60.4% of Campylobacter isolates during the broiler slaughtering process. A tag-label method allowed us to track the dynamic of Campylobacter in each broiler chicken from 31-day age at rearing to the partition step in the slaughterhouse. At the 31-day during rearing, 150 broiler chicken were labeled, and was tracked for Campylobacter positive from rearing period to slaughtering process. Among the labeled broiler, 11 of the tracking broiler samples were able to detect Campylobacter from rearing period to slaughtering. All Campylobacter isolates from the 11 tracking samples were sequenced and analyzed. C. jejuni isolates were divided into four STs and C. coli isolates were divided into six STs. Isolates with identical core genome were observed from the same tag-labeled samples at different stages indicating a vertical transmission of Campylobacter in the early broiler meat production. Meanwhile, the core genome analysis elucidated the cross-contamination of Campylobacter during the rearing period and the slaughtering process. The virulotyping analysis revealed that all C. jejuni isolates shared the same virulotypes, while C. coli isolates were divided into three different virulotypes. The antimicrobial resistance gene analysis demonstrated that all Campylobacter isolates contained at least two antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), Tang et al. Campylobacter From Broiler in China and the ARG profiles were well-corresponding to each ST type. Our study observed a high prevalence of Campylobacter during the early chicken meat production, and further studies will be needed to investigate the diversity and transmission of Campylobacter in the poultry production chain.

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Virulence Genes, and Genetic Diversity of Thermophilic Campylobacter Species Isolated From a Layer Poultry Farm in Korea

“…Chicken contamination or infection by Campylobacter at the farm level usually affects the whole poultry production chain from farm to fork ( Giannatale et al, 2019 ; Tang et al, 2020 ), and suitable interventions have to be adopted to reduce transmission from poultry to humans ( Alter et al, 2011 ). The detection rate of Campylobacter was 35.9%, with C. jejuni being predominant (89.1%) compared to C. coli (10.9%).…”

“…There is limited literature associating virulence genes to specific CCs and STs; thus, this study highlights the virulence potential of the presented Campylobacter isolates. For C. coli , ST-1121 has been reported from broilers in China ( Tang et al, 2020 ). We suggest carrying out WGS to have a detailed picture of the pathogenicity by analyzing all the housekeeping, virulence, and AMR genes.…”

Antimicrobial Effect and the Mechanism of Diallyl Trisulfide against Campylobacter jejuni

“…The antimicrobial activity of DATS was evaluated by MICs over a serial of concentration on strain 81-176 and 15 strains from chicken samples collected during a previous study [ 23 ] ( Table 1 ). The MIC value of DATS to strain 81-176 was 32 μg/mL, while MICs for chicken isolates were ranged from 1 to 64 μg/mL ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Poultry products are the main vector for C. jejuni contamination. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activities of DATS on 14 of C. jejuni isolates from chicken carcasses in a slaughterhouse as previously reported [ 23 ]. The MIC experiments revealed that nine of 14 C. jejuni isolates could be eliminated by DATS with a concentration ≤ of 8 μg/mL, four chicken isolates and the reference strain 81-176 had a MIC value of 32 μg/mL, and one isolates had a MIC value of 64 μg/mL ( Table 1 ).…”

Diversity and Antimicrobial Resistance in the Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus Complex (SBSEC) Isolated from Korean Domestic Ruminants

“…The genes responsible for resistance to lincosamides are lnu class genes, which encode nucleotidyltransferases and cause enzymatic inactivation of the antibiotic [ 68 ]. Among the nine lnu class genes reported to date ( ), the lnu(C) is relatively little investigated however, recent reports have demonstrated its presence in the livestock industry [ 69 ]. In this study, we confirmed the presence of lnu(C) during genome analysis in some SBSEC isolates (strain CNU_77-23 and CNU_G3) even though they were not phenotypically resistant to lincosamides (clindamycin).…”