Occurrence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. and Phenotypic Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> in Slaughtered Broiler Chickens in North-Western Romania
Sebastian Alexandru Popa,
Adriana Morar,
Alexandra Ban-Cucerzan,
Emil Tîrziu,
Viorel Herman,
Khalid Ibrahim Sallam,
Doru Morar,
Ulaș Acaroz,
Mirela Imre,
Tijana Florea,
Hamid Mukhtar,
Kálmán Imre
Affiliations
Sebastian Alexandru Popa
Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Adriana Morar
Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Alexandra Ban-Cucerzan
Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Emil Tîrziu
Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Viorel Herman
Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Khalid Ibrahim Sallam
Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansura University, Mansura 35516, Egypt
Doru Morar
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Ulaș Acaroz
Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar 03200, Turkey
Mirela Imre
Department of Parasitology and Dermatology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Tijana Florea
Department of Parasitology and Dermatology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Hamid Mukhtar
Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Kálmán Imre
Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timişoara, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
Campylobacteriosis is recognized as one of the most common food-borne zoonoses, with worldwide distribution, having undercooked poultry meat and other cross-contaminated foodstuffs as the main sources of human infections. The current study aimed to provide data on the occurrence of the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in seven broiler chicken flocks, from three north-western Transylvanian counties of Romania, as well as to determine the antimicrobial resistance profile of the isolated C. jejuni strains. A total of 324 fresh cecal samples were collected during the slaughtering process, and screened for the presence of Campylobacter spp., using routine microbiological and molecular diagnostic tools. Overall, 85.2% (276/324; 95% CI 80.9–88.6) of the tested samples expressed positive results for Campylobacter spp., with dominant occurrence of C. coli towards C. jejuni (63.4% vs. 36.6%). From the six tested antimicrobials, the 101 isolated C. jejuni strains were resistant against ciprofloxacin (79.2%), nalidixic acid (78.2%), tetracycline (49.5%), and streptomycin (7.9%), but total susceptibility was noticed against erythromycin and gentamicin. Seven (6.9%) isolates exhibited multidrug resistance. The study results emphasize the role of broiler chicken as reservoir of Campylobacter infections for humans, as well as strengthen the necessity of the prudent using of antimicrobials in the poultry industry.
