Biodiversity Dynamics of Campylobacter Species in Chicken Tissues in Rural Households in Region Epirus, Greece

Abstract

The Campylobacter species is considered as an emerging zoonotic threat to public health. C. jejuni and C. coli are the most studied species, yet a variety of other species of the same genus were found to be the causative agents of other diseases. Chicken meat has been described as an excellent vehicle for the transmission of some Campylobacter species but most of the relevant research has been conducted in urban populations and concerned meat of industrial-grade birds. To investigate the abundance and prevalence of the Campylobacter genus in rural free-grazing chicken, quantitative and qualitative methods at 37 and at 42 °C were employed. The possible correlation of the prevalence with certain epidemiological factors (size of the flock, presence of other poultry species, presence of small ruminants, feeding concentrates, or leftovers) has been also investigated. In total, 242–249 strains (depending on the method) belonging to the following 18 different Campylobacter species have been isolated: C. coli, C. rectus, C. hominis, C. helveticus, C. upsaliensis, C. jejuni, C. avium, C. fetus, C. hepaticus., C. lari, C. sputorum, C. mucosalis, C. gracilis, C. showae, C. hyointestinalis, C. concisus, C. cuniculorum, and C. ureolyticus. The size of the flock and the presence of small ruminants in the same household were the most influential factors affecting the prevalence of most species. Campylobacter species biodiversity can be attributed to environmental, zoonotic, or anthropogenic contamination. Rural populations should be educated about the importance of self-protection measures during their contact with their poultry and the necessity to cook sufficiently the meat.

Overview of Ecology and Aspects of Antibiotic Resistance in Campylobacter spp. Isolated from Free-Grazing Chicken Tissues in Rural Households

“…The present research article is an extended paper based on the previous one, and thus the details of research areas, methods used for sampling on farms, and carcass management are thoroughly described, point by point, in our previous published study [ 26 ]. Briefly, two main elements of our experimental design are important to restate: (a) the selection criteria of rural households and (b) the type of tissue section taken from each carcass ( Table 1 ; Supplementary Material File S1 ).…”

“…As already mentioned in our previous study [ 26 ], two parallel analytical procedures were followed: a quantitative (enumeration of total Campylobacter colony counts) and a qualitative (presence/absence) analysis of the samples. The sub-sections below describe the quantitative method of analysis of the samples.…”

“…Isolates that were presumptively characterized as Campylobacter spp. were further analyzed using the methodology of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS; Bruker Biotyper Microflex; Bremen, Germany) in order to identify the species of each isolate, as described in our previously published study ( Figure 1 ) [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Many studies have been conducted to characterize the presence of Campylobacter in poultry. These studies aim to understand the prevalence, distribution, and factors influencing the contamination of poultry products in industrial areas and poultry slaughterhouses or retail establishments [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. However, none of these studies performed an in-depth mapping of the dynamic ecology of Campylobacter strains isolated from chicken tissues in rural households, using different nutrient substrates and growth conditions, in order to identify emerging strains found in very small micro-communities.…”

“…However, none of these studies performed an in-depth mapping of the dynamic ecology of Campylobacter strains isolated from chicken tissues in rural households, using different nutrient substrates and growth conditions, in order to identify emerging strains found in very small micro-communities. We previously isolated eighteen species of the Campylobacter genus from various types of tissues of free-grazing chickens in rural environment, an impressive abundance that suggests that this genus can survive in more environmental niches than has been thought [ 26 ]. In the present study, we continued the in-depth analysis of Campylobacter isolates obtained from quantitative analysis (bacterial colony counts), also determining the antimicrobial susceptibility profile and the presence of genetic markers of resistance.…”