Pet Dogs and Chicken Meat as Reservoirs ofCampylobacterspp. in Barbados

Abstract

Campylobacter spp. are the second most common pathogen isolated from stools of patients with gastroenteritis in Barbados. The aim of this study was to identify reservoirs of Campylobacter and the likely source(s) of human infection. Fecal specimens from 596 animals and 311 samples of animal food products were analyzed for the presence of Campylobacter spp. by standard culture techniques. Isolates were characterized by conventional phenotypic tests, confirmed by latex agglutination and PCR with genus-specific primers, and identified by the use of species-specific primers. High isolation rates were obtained for chickens (94.2%), pigs (90.5%), dogs (46.9%), cats (37.3%), and wild birds (39.3%). Campylobacter was also recovered from monkeys (17.1%) and sheep (4.2%) but not from cows. Chicken meat was frequently contaminated with Campylobacter (58.4%), but its recovery from other animal food products was rare. Campylobacter jejuni was the most commonly identified species in humans (63.6%), chickens (86.6%), dogs (51.5%), and chicken meat (79.8%). Porcine isolates were predominantly C. coli (98.4%), while cats harbored mainly C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus. Wild birds alone carried urease-positive thermophilic campylobacters. C. jejuni and C. coli isolates from different sources were compared with isolates from humans by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA typing with the primers OPA 11 and HLWL 85. Genotyping revealed similarities between isolates from chicken meat and those from humans and could not distinguish between two clinical isolates and four canine strains. Our results suggest that dogs are significant reservoirs of Campylobacter and contribute to human enteric infections and that chicken meat is a likely vehicle for the transmission of campylobacters to humans.

Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli species in cats and dogs from Bydgoszcz (Poland) region

“…Confirmation of this are researches of Aquino et al (2002) and Workman et al (2005). In those studies Campylobacter spp.…”

“…The frequency of isolation of Campylobacter spp. in dogs varied from 17% (Brazil, Argentina) to 76.2% (Denmark), while in cats isolation values ranged from 8% in Brazil to 47.8% in Germany (Moser et al 2001, Aquino et al 2002, Lopez et al 2002, Sandberg et al 2002, Engvall et al 2003, Hald et al 2004, Wieland et al 2005, Workman et al 2005, Acke et al 2009, Chaban et al 2010, Parsons et al 2010, Salihu et al 2010. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp.…”

Typing of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Dogs by Use of Multilocus Sequence Typing and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

“…In contrast, dogs from hunt kennels had the greatest diversity of clonal complexes, which could be a result of frequent exposure to possible sources of infection since dogs from hunt kennels 1 and 2 were exercised daily through fields grazed by livestock and dogs in hunt kennel 1 were fed a diet of raw meat and bone. Cattle feces, carcasses, wildlife, birds, soil, and water have all been shown to carry C. jejuni (4,9,23,41,48). Although a variety of sequence types were isolated from hunt kennels, several dogs had ST-2772, ST-334, or complex ST-21, none of which were observed for any of the other dog populations within this study.…”

Prevalence of Campylobacter subtypes in pheasants (Phasianus colchicus spp. torquatus) in the Czech Republic

“…Campylobacter spp. is frequently found in feces of healthy animals, especially birds and is widely distributed in the environment (Engvall et al, 2002;Workman et al, 2005). Wild birds are often considered to be a potential reservoir for C. jejuni in nature and possible source of human infections (Levesque et al, 2000;Waldenstrom et al, 2002).…”