Virulence typing and antibiotic susceptibility profiling of thermophilic Campylobacters isolated from poultry, animal, and human species

Background and Aim: Campylobacteriosis finds its place among the four important global foodborne illnesses. The disease, though self-limiting, needs antibacterial therapy in extraintestinal complications. Therefore, the present study was designed to estimate the prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacters in poultry, animals, and humans of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Materials and Methods: A total of 609 samples comprising of poultry ceca (n=116), poultry droppings (n=203), and feces of pigs (n=71), cattle (n=61), sheep (n=19), goat (n=17), human beings (n=88), and laboratory animals (n=34) (rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs) were collected. The thermophilic Campylobacters, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli were confirmed using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The isolates were also screened for the presence of virulence genes, and their antibiotic susceptibility testing was done against eight antibiotics. Results: An overall prevalence of 6.24% was revealed with highest from poultry ceca (15.52%), followed by poultry droppings (5.91%), cattle feces (4.92%), human stools (3.40%), and pig feces (2.82%). The virulence genes, namely cadF, flaA, virB11, and pldA, were present in 38 (100%), 37 (97.37%), 7 (18.42%), and 14 (36.84%) isolates, respectively. All the isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid, while all were sensitive to erythromycin and co-trimoxazole. Conclusion: It was concluded that the animals and humans in the region harbored the thermophilic Campylobacters which may contribute to the human illness. Resistance shown among the isolates may complicate the antimicrobial therapy