Emerging patterns of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter jejuni in the UK [1998–2018]

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni (C.jejuni) is the most common causative agent of bacterial food poisoning worldwide and is known to be genetically highly diverse. C. jejuni is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics, but very few studies have investigated variant-specific patterns of resistance across time. Here we use statistical modelling and clustering techniques to investigate patterns of fluoroquinolone resistance amongst 10,359 UK isolates from human disease sampled over 20 years. We observed six distinct patterns of fluoroquinolone sensitivity/resistance in C. jejuni across time, grouping by clonal complex (CC). Some CCs were fully resistant, some shifted from susceptible to resistant following a sigmoidal shape, and some remained susceptible over time. Our findings indicate that the fluoroquinolone resistance patterns of C. jejuni are complicated and cannot be analysed as a single species but divided into variant dynamics so that the factors driving resistance can be thoroughly investigated.

Zoonotic and antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter: a view through the One Health lens

“…Its resistance to FQ antimicrobials is of particular concern to public health because FQs (e.g., ciprofloxacin) are an important class of antimicrobials used for clinical therapy of campylobacteriosis and other enteric infections [35]. The prevalence of FQ-resistant Campylobacter is continuing to rise on a global scale and has reached alarming levels in some countries [17,21,[36][37][38]. This has led WHO to list FQ-resistant Campylobacter as a high-priority for research and development of new antibiotics [18].…”

Making Food Safer in Palestine: A One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance

“…In the United Kingdom, the occurrence of fluoroquinolone resistance in C. jejuni strains isolated from patients has substantially risen over 20 years. In 1998, fluoroquinolone resistance was detected in 5% of the isolates, but by 2018, it had increased to affect 45% of all isolates (Veltcheva, Colles, Varga, Maiden, & Bonsall, 2022) (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002) to 90% (2003-2010) (Zhou et al, 2016). Furthermore, a notable occurrence of fluoroquinolone resistance has been reported in C. jejuni strains of human origin in the United Arab Emirates (85%) and in strains of chicken origin in South Africa (91%) (Bester & Essack, 2008;Sonnevend et al, 2006).…”