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

Abstract

Background Members of the genus Arcobacter are considered as emerging zoonotic food and waterborne pathogens that cause gastroenteritis and bacteremia in humans. However, the potential risk that Arcobacter species pose to public health remains unassessed in various countries, including Baltic states. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility and presence of putative virulence genes of Arcobacter isolates recovered from humans, food products and environmental water in Lithuania. Results A total of 1862 samples were collected and examined from 2018 to 2020 in the city of Kaunas. Overall, 11.2% (n = 208) of the samples were positive for the presence of Arcobacter spp. The highest prevalence was detected in chicken meat (36%), followed by environmental water (28.1%), raw cow milk (25%), ready-to-eat salad mixes (7.1%) and human stool (1.7%). A. butzleri was the most frequently isolated species (n = 192; 92.3%), followed by A. cryaerophilus (n = 16; 7.7%). Arcobacter spp. antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed unimodally distributed aggregated minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for gentamicin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin and erythromycin. However, a bimodal distribution for azithromycin was found with 96.2% of determined MICs above the epidemiological cut-off value (ECOFF) defined for Campylobacter jejuni (0.25 µg/ml). Majority of the Arcobacter isolates (n = 187; 89.9%) showed high susceptibility to ciprofloxacin with MICs below or equal to the ECOFF value of 0.5 µg/ml. The putative virulence genes cadF (100%), ciaB (100%), cj1349 (99%), tlyA (99%), mviN (97.9%) and pldA (95.8%) were the predominant genes detected among A. butzleri isolates. In contrast, the mviN and ciaB genes were present in all, whereas cj1349 (12.5%), tlyA (25%) and hecA (12.5%) were only detected in few A. cryaerophilus isolates. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that food products and environmental water in Lithuania are frequently contaminated with Arcobacter spp. that carry multiple putative virulence genes. Furthermore, A. butzleri were isolated from 1.7% of inpatients. Fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides were found to be more effective against Arcobacter in comparison to other antimicrobial agents. However, further studies are needed to determine the pathogenic mechanisms and factors that facilitate the spread of Arcobacter infections.

Species classification and novel plasmid identifications in Arcobacter cryaerophilus and Arcobacter cryaerophilus-like organisms

“…In this study, the adhesion-related genes, immune-related genes, motility-related genes, and stress adaptation-related genes were identified in almost all strains. Interestingly, we observed that cadF , ciaB , mviN , pldA, and tlyA were present in almost every genome, which was different from previous studies ( Girbau et al, 2015 ; Bruckner et al, 2020 ; Uljanovas et al, 2021 ), in which the presents of the virulence genes were identified by PCR. The lower detection ratio for these genes might be because of the genetic heterogeneity in primers’ target sequences.…”

First report of Aliarcobacter cryaerophilus in ready-to-cook chicken meat samples from super shops in Bangladesh

“…Ready-to-cook poultry meat is considered the safest product based on its processing. However, A. cryaerophilus- contaminated meat can infect humans during handling and cooking, which may lead to self-limiting diarrhea [ 25 ]. Again, undercooked meat can lead to foodborne illness.…”

Arcobacter butzleri Biofilms: Insights into the Genes Beneath Their Formation

“…3 Categ, categorization according to Naves et al, [88]: Strong (S), Moderate (M), Weak (W) and None (N). 4 CRA, phenotype shown on CRA plates. * Student's t-based statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences obtained when comparing wild-type strains with their derivatives on each surface.…”

“…Arcobacter butzleri is a Gram-negative bacterium with a wide environmental distribution, classified as a foodborne pathogen [ 1 ] due to its association with human gastrointestinal disease. A. butzleri is the most prevalent among the species of the genus and is frequently isolated from wild and farm animals’ excrements and intestinal regions (boar, ostrich, Eurasian collared dove and raccoon), farm animals’ meat (chicken, pork, beef, turkey, lamb, sheep, rabbit and quail meat), seafood products (clam, mussel, cockle, squid and shrimp), dairy products (raw cow milk and fresh cheese), vegetables (carrot, spinach, lettuce, chard, parsley, arugula and radish), environmental water and human stool [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”