Genetic Signature and Serocompatibility Evidence for Drug Resistant Campylobacter jejuni

Abstract

Campylobacteriosis, a foodborne illness, is one of the world′s leading causes of gastrointestinal illness. This study investigates the link between human campylobacteriosis and the consumption of potentially contaminated food with Campylobacter jejuni. Three hundred sixty samples were collected from humans, chicken cloaca, raw chicken meat, unpasteurized milk, and vegetables. The chickens were obtained from licensed and non-licensed slaughterhouses, and only the necks and wings were studied. Samples were enriched under microaerobic conditions then cultured on the modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar. Bacteria was identified by staining, biochemical testing, and molecular identification by the polymerase chain reaction for the virulence genes; hipO, asp, dnaJ, cadF, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC. The genomic homogeneity of C. jejuni between human and chicken isolates was assessed by the serological Penner test and the pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Campylobacter was not detected in the vegetables and pasteurized milk, though, only twenty isolates from chickens and clinical samples were presumed to be Campylobacter based on their morphology. The biochemical tests confirmed that five isolates were C. coli, and fifteen isolates were C. jejuni including two isolates from humans, and the remaining were from chickens. The colonization of C. jejuni in chickens was significantly lower in necks (6.66%) obtained from licensed slaughterhouses compared to those obtained from non-licensed slaughterhouses (33.3%). The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that all identified C. jejuni isolates were resistant to antibiotics, and the majority of isolates (53.5%) showed resistance against six antibiotics, though, all isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and aztreonam. The Penner test showed P:21 as the dominant serotype in isolates from humans, necks, and cloaca. The serohomology of C. jejuni from human isolates and chicken necks, wings, and cloaca was 71%, 36%, 78%, respectively. The PFGE analysis of the pattern for DNA fragmentation by the restriction enzyme Smal showed a complete genotypic homology of C. jejuni human isolates and chicken necks compared to partial homology with cloacal isolates. The study brings attention to the need for effective interventions to ensure best practices for safe poultry production for commercial food chain supply to limit infection with foodborne pathogens, including Campylobacter.

Campylobacter jejuni Infections: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestations and Management

“…Several methods can be used for Campylobacter typing, including Phage typing, serotyping, 16S rRNA sequencing. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST), and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) are frequently used to source track foodborne pathogens [20].…”

“…The reservoir of Campylobacter is the farm animals, mainly the poultry. The major infection caused by Campylobacter is acute diarrhea, which can be triggered by an ingested dose of a few as 500-800 CFU from the bacterial cells [20]. However, the ingestion of 100 bacterial cells or less could also correlated with human infection [20].…”

“…The major infection caused by Campylobacter is acute diarrhea, which can be triggered by an ingested dose of a few as 500-800 CFU from the bacterial cells [20]. However, the ingestion of 100 bacterial cells or less could also correlated with human infection [20]. The most common risk factor for Campylobacteriosis transmission to humans is the raw undercooked chicken.…”

“…Campylobacter may also spread vertically from poultry to their off spring's, or horizontally from contaminated water, contact with fecal materials, rodents and farm personnel. Campylobacter does not spread to poultry from their feed, as it is too dry for the survival of the bacteria [20]. Campylobacter can cause an economic burden on the human population since it can cause about 8.4% of the diarrheal cases worldwide.…”

“…Defense against this can be achieved via two oxidative stress defense systems; peroxide defense system, and superoxide defense system [36]. Moreover, Campylobacter species must cope up with the continuous changing in the temperature, as they can found in diff erent hosts with diff erent body temperature, for that Campylobacter should express type of proteins called heat shock proteins HSPs [20].…”