Chickens and Cattle as Sources of Sporadic Domestically Acquired Campylobacter jejuni Infections in Finland

Abstract

A substantial sampling among domestic human campylobacter cases, chicken process lots, and cattle at slaughter was performed during the seasonal peak of human infections. Campylobacter jejuni isolates (n ‫؍‬ 419) were subtyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with SmaI, and isolates representing overlapping types (n ‫؍‬ 212) were further subtyped using KpnI for restriction. The SmaI/KpnI profiles of 55.4% (97/175) of the human isolates were indistinguishable from those of the chicken or cattle isolates. The overlapping SmaI/KpnI subtypes accounted for 69.8% (30/43) and 15.9% (32/201) of the chicken and cattle isolates, respectively. The occurrence of identical SmaI/KpnI subtypes with human C. jejuni isolates was significantly associated with animal host species (P < 0.001). A temporal association of isolates from chickens and patients was possible in 31.4% (55/175) of the human infections. Besides chickens as sources of C. jejuni in the sporadic infections, the role of cattle appears notable. New approaches to restrict the occurrence of campylobacters in other farm animals may be needed in addition to hygienic measures in chicken production. However, only about half of the human infections were attributable to these sources.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter spp. Isolated from Poultry Carcasses in Poland

“…In several studies, poultry has been identified as an important risk factor for Campylobacter infection in humans (3,8,10,15,16). In the present study, the prevalence of these bacteria in poultry carcasses (62.1%) was similar to that described recently in Belgium (51.9%) in broilers at slaughter (15).…”

“…From 50 to 80% of human campylobacter iosis cases have been attributed to the chicken (broiler) reservoir, and the foodbome outbreak data reported from 2010 indicated that 17 (63.0%) of 27 verified infections were linked to contaminated poultry meat (8,10). Other epidemiological evidence also indicates the major role of zoonotic transmission of Campylobacter from poultry to humans (4,16,25).…”

Molecular typing and cdt genes prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from various sources

“…Since the optimum growth temperature of thermophilic Campylobacter species is near 42°C, the higher metabolic temperatures found in poultry species may predispose poultry to be a prominent reservoir for thermophilic campylobacters. Although chickens can be considered as the most important single source of C. jejuni in sporadic, domestically acquired infections, the contribution of cattle appeared notable (Hakkinen et al 2009). …”

Respiratory proteins contribute differentially to Campylobacter jejuni’s survival and in vitro interaction with hosts’ intestinal cells

“…However, C . jejuni has been isolated from a variety of animals, such as poultry and cattle, as well as other ex vivo niches [2,3], which highlight the remarkable capability of this bacterium for persistence in different environments as well as its adaptation potential. Despite lacking classical stress response mechanisms [4], C .…”