Detection and Characterization of Campylobacter spp. from 40 Dairy Cattle Herds in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Dairy cattle are considered a Campylobacter reservoir in the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis. Currently, very little data on the prevalence of Campylobacter in dairy herds are available in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of Campylobacter associated with management practices in 40 dairy cattle herds as well as to characterize the bacterial genetic diversity. Fecal samples from 797 lactating cows of 40 dairy farms, water provided to animals, milk from bulk tank, and fecal matters from pens were analyzed for the presence of Campylobacter. Management information was collected using a short survey and the geographical positioning was mapped for each farm. Bacterial genetic characterization was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and flaA-typing. In total, 29 farms (72.5%) were found positive for Campylobacter spp. and 20 (50%) of them were positive for Campylobacter jejuni. In animals, 27.6% of the fecal samples were positive for Campylobacter spp. C. hyointestinalis was the most prevalent species (19.3%) in herds, followed by C. jejuni (6.5%). No Campylobacter were recovered from water or milk samples. Component-fed ration systems and the lack of biosecurity measures were associated with an increased prevalence of C. jejuni on the studied farms. Campylobacter-positive farms were scattered throughout the region, and bacterial genetic heterogeneity was observed between farms and inside the herds. This study is the first one to characterize C. jejuni isolates from dairy herds in the Province of Quebec. These observations may be useful in order to elaborate risk-mitigation strategies.

Co-occurrence of Campylobacter Species in Children From Eastern Ethiopia, and Their Association With Environmental Enteric Dysfunction, Diarrhea, and Host Microbiome

“…Among all the Campylobacter species detected in our study (27 classified species and 12 unclassified species), the nonthermotolerant C. hyointestinalis was the second most abundant and the third most prevalent Campylobacter species in the children stools. C. hyointestinalis was previously isolated from numerous livestock species such as swine (43), cattle (43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48), sheep (43). However, its implication in human diseases is rare and sporadic (49)(50)(51)(52)(53).…”

“…However, its implication in human diseases is rare and sporadic (49)(50)(51)(52)(53). C. hyointestinalis has also been reported in developed countries, more precisely in feces collected from dairy farms in Canada (19.3%), in Finland (10.8%) and from dairy goat farms in New Zealand (2%), and in 3.2% milk samples collected from dairy farms in Italy (45,47,48,54). C. hyointestinalis, as well as, other Campylobacter species were also isolated from wild boar in Japan and dogs in Canada (55,56).…”

Molecular and Statistical Analysis of Campylobacter spp. and Antimicrobial‐Resistant Campylobacter Carriage in Wildlife and Livestock from Ontario Farms

“…Similar to previous studies in Canada, we found that the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was highest in swine followed by beef cattle and dairy cattle (Inglis et al., ; Varela et al., ; Guévremont et al., ). Specifically, we found that there were significantly greater odds of isolating Campylobacter from swine samples compared to both dairy and beef cattle samples.…”

Campylobacter species in animal, food, and environmental sources, and relevant testing programs in Canada

“…(reviewed in Humphrey et al 2007;Taboada et al 2013). The methods that are most widely used in Canada include (i) PFGE (e.g., Steele et al 1998;Nadeau et al 2002;Clark et al 2003;Guévremont et al 2004Guévremont et al , 2014, (ii) characterization of the flagellin locus through restriction fragment length polymorphism (fla RFLP) or DNA sequencing of the short variable region (fla SVR) (e.g., Clark et al 2005Clark et al , 2012Guévremont et al 2014), (iii) MLST (e.g., Clark et al 2005Clark et al , 2012, and (iv) CGF (Taboada et al , 2013Deckert et al 2014). Heat-stable serotyping and fla RFLP typing (Clark et al 2003), and Oxford MLST or fla SVR sequencing methods (Clark et al 2005) helped to identify the Campylobacter spp.…”