Campylobacter jejuniand C. colihave been associated with gastrointestinal disorders in human beings, due mainly to the consumption of chicken meat. Despite control measures for reducing contamination by these bacteria, the detection of Campylobacter in carcasses after chilling remains high.A total of 105 carcasses were assessed by the horizontal detection method in five federally inspected slaughterhouses in southern Brazil in 2012 and in the first three months of 2013. Campylobacterwas isolated in 37.1% of the carcasses, of which 97.5% contained C. jejuni and 2.5% were infected by C. coli. The rate of positive carcasses across the slaughterhouses ranged from 0 to 71.4%. Determining the occurrence of Campylobacteramong flocks is crucial for estimating the microbial load at specific points along the slaughtering process and for minimizing the risk of contamination of end products by Campylobacter.

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RESUMO.-[Resistência a β-lactâmicos e tetraciclina emCampylobacter spp. isolados de matadouros-frigorífi-cos de aves no sul do Brasil.] O presente estudo foi realizado para examinar e analisar as características genéticas de resistência antimicrobiana de Campylobacter spp. a partir de fontes avícolas. Um total de 141 amostras de Campylobacter isolados em matadouros-frigoríficos de aves do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, foi identificado por mé-todos fenotípicos e genotípicos. Foi analisada a susceptibilidade antimicrobiana e a presença de genes de resistência.As cepas foram testadas para detectar sensibilidade frente a dois antimicrobianos (ampicilina e tetraciclina) pelo método de difusão em disco. A seguir, usando a reação em cadeia da polimerase foi confirmada a espécie e a presença dos genes de resistência à ampicilina (bla OXA-61 ) e tetraciclina tet(O), assim como a detecção da bomba de efluxo (cmeB). Campylobacter jejuni foi a espécie mais isolada, sua presença foi determinada em 140 amostras (99,3%), e Campylobacter coli foi encontrada em uma única amostra (0,70%). Os resultados obtidos mostraram 65% e 35,5% de Campylobacter isolados resistentes a β-lactâmicos e tetraciclinas, respectivamente. O gene cmeB responsável pela resistência a múltiplos antimicrobianos foi detectado em 26 amostras (18,5%). Neste contexto, 36 das 141 amostras (25,6%) foram consideradas resistentes a dois grupos diferentes de antimicrobianos (β-lactâmicos e tetraciclinas). Campylobacter isolated from samples of broilers of slaughterhouses in southern Brazil was identified by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Campylobacter isolates were evaluated for its antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of resistance genes. The strains were investigated for antimicrobial susceptibility against two agents (ampicillin and tetracycline) by disk diffusion method. PCR assay was used to confirm the specie and the presence of ampicillin (bla OXA-61 ), tetracycline tet(O), and the energy-dependent multi-drug efflux pump (cmeB) genes. Campylobacter jejuni was the most ubiquitous; its presence was determined in 140 samples out of 141 (99.3%), whereas Campylobacter coli was found only in one of the contaminated samples (0.70%). The results obtained showed 65% and 35.5% of Campylobacter isolates resistant to β-lactams and tetracyclines, respectively. The cmeB gene responsible for multidrug resistance was detected in 26 isolates out 141 strains (18.5%). Moreover, 36 out of 141 Campylobacter strains (25.6%) were found to be resistant to at least two different antimicrobia resistance markers (β-lactams and tetracyclines). INDEX TERMS:Campylobacter, tetracycline, β-lactam, efflux pump, resistance genes, PCR. Yuli M. Sierra-Arguello et al.

Introduction: Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis. Despite its public health importance, the virulence factors and mechanisms underlying C. jejuni pathogenesis remain poorly understood and the relationships between these genes and the sources of the strains are not clear. We aimed to determine the virulence profiles of C. jejuni isolated from poultry and human cases of Campylobacteriosis. Methodology: A total of 50 strains of C. jejuni isolated from poultry and human cases of Campylobacteriosis were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of six pathogenic genes (flaA, iam, wlaN, cdtA, cdtB, cdtC). Results: A total of 40% (10/25) of the human isolates presented only one virulence marker. In contrast, 64% (16/25) of the poultry-derived strains showed four or five virulence markers. cdtA and flaA occurred more frequently in poultry-derived strains than in human strains. Ten different virulence profiles were observed among the human isolates and 11 among the poultry strains. Only four profiles were common to both sources: profiles 3 (flaA, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC), 5 (cdtA and cdtB), 7 (flaA and cdtB), and 10 (iam, flaA, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC). The human-derived strains had a higher Shannon diversity index (1.9396) and Simpson index (0.8367), indicating a more diversified population than found in poultry (1.7742 and 0.7333, respectively). Conclusions: We found variations in the genetic profiles of the circulating strains based on the isolation source and genes that are potentially pathogenic to humans were detected in poultry-derived strains.

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