Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Arcobacter species in human stool samples derived from out- and inpatients: the prospective German Arcobacter prevalence study Arcopath

Abstract

Background: Arcobacter species, particularly A. butzleri, but also A. cryaerophilus constitute emerging pathogens causing gastroenteritis in humans. However, isolation of Arcobacter may often fail during routine diagnostic procedures due to the lack of standard protocols. Furthermore, defined breakpoints for the interpretation of antimicrobial susceptibilities of Arcobacter are missing. Hence, reliable epidemiological data of human Arcobacter infections are scarce and lacking for Germany. We therefore performed a 13-month prospective Arcobacter prevalence study in German patients. Results: A total of 4636 human stool samples was included and Arcobacter spp. were identified from 0.85% of specimens in 3884 outpatients and from 0.40% of specimens in 752 hospitalized patients. Overall, A. butzleri was the most prevalent species (n = 24; 67%), followed by A. cryaerophilus (n = 10; 28%) and A. lanthieri (n = 2; 6%). Whereas A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. lanthieri were identified in outpatients, only A. butzleri could be isolated from samples of hospitalized patients. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Arcobacter isolates revealed high susceptibilities to ciprofloxacin, whereas bimodal distributions of MICs were observed for azithromycin and ampicillin. Conclusions: In summary, Arcobacter including A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. lanthieri could be isolated in 0.85% of German outpatients and ciprofloxacin rather than other antibiotics might be appropriate for antibiotic treatment of infections. Further epidemiological studies are needed, however, to provide a sufficient risk assessment of Arcobacter infections in humans.

Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence gene profiles of Arcobacter species isolated from human stool samples, foods of animal origin, ready-to-eat salad mixes and environmental water

“…were detected in 1.3% (89/6774) and 1.7% (5/298) of clinical stool samples respectively [ 14 , 31 ]. Other studies, conducted in Turkey, Germany, India, Chile and Belgium, reported different prevalence rates ranging from 0.3 to 4% [ 17 – 19 , 32 , 33 ]. After identification using multiplex PCR and verification by rpoB sequencing all isolates were classified as A. butzleri .…”

“…To date, the reported prevalence of Arcobacter among humans range from 0.3 to 4% [ 17 , 18 ]. Recent studies have shown that Arcobacter was the second and fourth most common bacterial pathogen isolated from human stool samples in Germany and Belgium, respectively [ 14 , 19 ].…”

Aliarcobacter, Halarcobacter, Malaciobacter, Pseudarcobacter and Poseidonibacter are later synonyms of Arcobacter: transfer of Poseidonibacter parvus, Poseidonibacter antarcticus, ‘Halarcobacter arenosus’, and ‘Aliarcobacter vitoriensis’ to Arcobacter as Arcobacter parvus comb. nov., Arcobacter antarcticus comb. nov., Arcobacter arenosus comb. nov. and Arcobacter vitoriensis comb. nov.

“…Further to the lack of scientific justification for the Pérez-Cataluña et al [5] proposals, we feel there is a risk to the wider scientific community that a reclassification of certain Arcobacter sensu lato species poses. Many Arcobacter species are widely recognized as emerging human [3, [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] and animal [31][32][33][34], pathogens, including recognition by an international body as agents of foodborne illness [4]. The revised nomenclature therefore presents a potential source of confusion for clinicians, veterinarians and diagnosticians, with corresponding important implications for accurate epidemiological monitoring and reporting.…”

Arcobacter Identification and Species Determination Using Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Neural Networks

“…Other strains isolated from different environmental, clinical, animal, and agri-food sources were provided by the Ottawa Research and Development Centre at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Ottawa, ON, Canada) and Arcobacter Research Lab at Freie Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany). All bacterial strains were identified to species level using multiplex PCR assays, followed by sequencing of PCR amplicons as described in the previous studies (3,(62)(63)(64)(65).…”

“…I n recent years, Arcobacter has been considered an emerging food-and waterborne pathogen and potential zoonotic agent (1). This genus currently comprises 29 recognized species isolated from environmental, animal, agri-food, and human sources (2,3). Among these, the most frequently reported species is A. butzleri, which is classified as a serious hazard to human health (4).…”