Prevalence, species diversity, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter strains in patients with diarrhea and poultry meat samples: one-year prospective study

Source tracking of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter is useful for control measures. In this study, Campylobacter-associated diarrhea and homology in antimicrobial resistance of humans and poultry meat isolates were investigated.

A total of 400 stools of patients and 100 poultry meat samples were analyzed. Susceptibility of the isolates was detected by disk diffusion, Etest, and agar dilution methods. Mismatch amplification mutation assay was used for the detection of mutations in the gyrA quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR).

Campylobacter spp., including C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari, were detected in 35% of the chicken meat and 6.75% of the stool samples, respectively. The QRDR mutation was detected in most of the stool and chicken meat samples. Although the frequency of resistance to tetracycline (53.5% and 62.8%), erythromycin (39.2% and 37.1%), and gentamicin (32.1% and 31.4%) was relatively similar, higher frequency of resistance to ciprofloxacin (51.4% vs 28.6%) and nalidixic acid (42.15% vs 28.6%) among the chicken meat, and ampicillin (50% and 17.1%) among the human stool was detected.

High percentage of poultry meat samples is contaminated with different Campylobacter species, which shows homology with the patients’ isolates in Tehran.