Genotypes, Antibiotic Resistance, and ST-8 Genetic Clone inCampylobacterIsolates from Sheep and Goats in Grenada

Abstract

Rectal swabs from 155 sheep and 252 goats from Grenada were evaluated to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter spp., antibiotic resistance, and multilocus sequence types. Fifteen Campylobacter isolates were obtained (14 C. jejuni and 1 C. coli). The prevalence (3.7%) did not differ significantly between sheep (4.5%) and goats (3.2%). Among the seven antimicrobials tested, resistance was only detected for tetracycline (30.8%) and metronidazole (38.5%). Campylobacter isolates showed no significant difference between sheep and goats for type of antimicrobial resistance or percent of resistant isolates. Twelve of the isolates were successfully genotyped consisting of four recognized clonal complexes and three novel sequence types. Importantly, one isolate from one goat was identified as the C. jejuni sequence type-8, a zoonotic and tetracycline-resistant clone reported to be a highly virulent clone associated with ovine abortion in the USA. Although most samples were from comingled sheep and goat production units, there were no shared sequence types between these two host species. None of the sequence types identified in this study have previously been reported in poultry in Grenada, suggesting sheep- and goat-specific Campylobacter clones in Grenada. This is the first report of genotyping of Campylobacter isolates from sheep and goats in the Eastern Caribbean.

CampylobacterSpecies Isolated from Pigs in Grenada Exhibited Novel Clones: Genotypes and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Sequence Types

“…Other studies in different geographical areas have also shown a low resistance rate of Campylobacter isolates from different animals and humans to tetracycline in comparison with our observation (Moore et al, 2006;Kashoma et al, 2015). On the other hand, other studies have reported high resistance rates of Campylobacter isolates from animals and humans to tetracycline, which is in close agreement with the observation in this study (Hariharan et al, 1990;Rollo et al, 2010;Scott et al, 2012;Stone et al, 2014).…”

“…The high frequency of tetracycline resistance (61.6%) observed in this study differed significantly ( p < 0.001) from the resistance to tetracycline (19.6%, 10/51) observed in poultry by Stone et al (2013). Another study on sheep and goats in Grenada by Stone et al (2014) revealed resistance of Campylobacter isolates to tetracycline (30.8%, 4/13), which is also significantly lower ( p = 0.005) than the observation in this study. Other studies in different geographical areas have also shown a low resistance rate of Campylobacter isolates from different animals and humans to tetracycline in comparison with our observation (Moore et al, 2006;Kashoma et al, 2015).…”

High Prevalence of Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Campylobacter Bacteria in Sheep and Increased Campylobacter Counts in the Bile and Gallbladders of Sheep Medicated with Tetracycline in Feed

“…This clone is a predominant cause of Campylobacterassociated ovine abortions and is also distributed in feedlot and dairy cattle in the United States (23,35). A recent study also reported identification of clone SA in Grenada (36). The lack of clone SA detection in this study is not entirely surprising, as we have previously found that the distribution of clone SA is highly variable from farm to farm (25).…”

Antibiotic Resistance ofCampylobacterRecovered from Faeces and Carcasses of Healthy Livestock

“…The 18.6% Campylobacter prevalence in sheep faeces is lower than the 23% and 38.0% rates reported in studies in Ghana and Ethiopia, respectively [ 17 , 22 ], but higher than the 4.5% reported in USA [ 23 ]. In sheep carcasses, rates of 11.0% have been reported in Ethiopia which is lower than the 35.9% obtained in this study although a higher rate of 72.2% has been described in Greece [ 24 , 25 ].…”