Campylobacter jejuni from Slaughter Age Broiler Chickens: Genetic Characterization, Virulence, and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne human gastroenteritis worldwide and is designated as a high priority antimicrobial-resistant pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this study, a total of 26 C. jejuni isolates from broiler chickens were screened for the presence of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes by PCR. As a result, the study detected 11/26 (42.3%), 9/26 (34.6%), 8/26 (30.8%), 7/26 (26.9%), 6/26 (23.1%), and 6/26 (23.1%) of cdtC, pldA, cdtB, cdtA, cadF, and ciaB virulence genes, respectively, with seven of the isolates carrying more than two virulence genes. The majority of the isolates n = 25 (96.1%) were resistant to nalidixic acid, followed by n = 21 (80.7%), n = 22 (84.6%), and n = 5 (19.2%) for tetracycline, erythromycin, and ciprofloxacin, respectively. Most isolates were harboring catI (n = 16; 84.2%), catII (n = 15; 78.9%), catIII (n = 10; 52.6%), catIV (n = 2; 10.5%), floR (n = 10; 52.6%), ermB (n = 14; 73.7%), tetO (n = 13; 68.4%), tetA (n = 9; 47.4%), mcr-4 (n = 8; 42.1%), and ampC (n = 2; 10.5%). Meanwhile, mcr-1, mcr-2, mcr-3, mcr-5, tet(X), tet(P), and tet(W) genes were not detected in all isolates. Class I and Class II integrons were detected in 92.3% (n = 24) and 65.4% (n = 17) isolates, respectively. About 31% (8 of the 26 isolates) isolates were carrying more than two resistance genes. According to our knowledge, this is the first study to detect class II integrons in Campylobacter spp. (C. jejuni). The high prevalence of cdtA, cdtB, cdtC, cadF, pldA, and ciaB genes and antibiotic resistance genes in C. jejuni in this study indicates the pathogenic potential of these isolates. Majority of the isolates demonstrated resistance to nalidixic acid, tetracycline (tet), and erythromycin (ermB), which are the drugs of choice for treating Campylobacter infections. Therefore, these findings highlight the importance of implementing an efficient strategy to control Campylobacter in chickens and to reduce antimicrobial use in the poultry industry, which will help to prevent the spread of infections to humans.

Molecular Detection of Virulence Factor of Campylobacter Jejuni Isolated from Organs of Chickens, Ducks, and Pigeons from Different Egyptian Provinces

“…Our results were nearly like to [39,40,13 and 41] which recorded the high percentage of the cdtA gene (85%) in chicken C. jejuni isolates. but our results were in Contrary to [42] that found a low occurrence of cdtA gene in chickens with a percentage of 26.9%. In this study, the total detection of the virB gene was detected in different percentages as it appeared as 43% total percentage and its percentages were 58.3%, and 33.3% in chickens and pigeons respectively.…”

A systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profile of Escherichia coli isolated from water in africa (2000–2021)

“…When considering the ARGs detected in the studies included in this meta-analysis, it was observed that multidrug resistance was potentially due to efflux pump systems. Multidrug efflux systems are the most common mechanism of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs [ 53 , 54 ]. Efflux pumps have been linked as one of the mechanism responsible to increase antibiotic resistance in bacteria biofilm structures as they allow faster diffusion rate of antibiotics [ 55 ].…”

Overview of Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance in Campylobacter spp. Livestock Isolates

“…In South African broilers, in 26 C. jejuni isolates, the highest antimicrobial resistance was detected to nalidixic acid (96.1%), tetracycline (80.7%) and erythromycin (84.6%), while resistance to ciprofloxacin was present in only 19.2%. The prevalence of the catI, catII, catIII, catIV, floR, ermB, tetO, tetA, mcr-4 and ampC genes were present in 84.2%, 78.9%, 52.6%, 10.5%, 52.6%, 73.7%, 68.4%, 47.4%, 42.1% and 10.5% of the tested isolates [66]. Similarly, antimicrobial resistance genes from 132 Campylobacter (C. jejuni and C. coli) poultry isolates were favourably prevalent, ranging from 80 to 100% for the cmeB, tetO and bla OXA-61 genes among all tested isolates, while the aphA-3 gene was not detected in any of the strains.…”

“…Class I integrons have been found in Campylobacter, but neither class II nor class III integrons have been detected in these species [97]. However, 92.3% of C. jejuni isolates displayed the presence of Class I integrons, whereas 65.4% of the tested isolates harboured Class II integrons [66].…”