Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Campylobacter Isolates from Conventional and Antibiotic-Free Chicken Products

Abstract

The use of fluoroquinolones (FQs) in poultry production is an important issue in public health today. In February 2002, two prominent U.S. poultry companies pledged to stop using FQs for flock-wide treatment. One year later, we began a survey of Campylobacter isolates on chicken products from these two companies and from two producers claiming total abstention from antibiotic use. Using both standard isolation methods and new methods modified to enhance detection of FQ-resistant Campylobacter, we compared rates of FQ-resistant Campylobacter among these products. Four major findings were drawn from this study: a) antibiotic-free brands were not more likely to be contaminated with Campylobacter; b) a high percentage of products from the two conventional brands were contaminated with FQ-resistant Campylobacter (43 and 96%); c) these conventional brands had significantly higher odds of carrying resistant strains compared with antibiotic-free products; and d) supplementing media with FQs increased the sensitivity of detecting FQ-resistant strains among mixed populations of Campylobacter, thus reducing a bias toward underestimating the prevalence of FQ-resistant Campylobacter on samples. These results suggest that FQ resistance may persist in the commercial poultry environment in the absence of FQ-selective pressure and that these strains contaminate a larger proportion of foods than reported previously.

Detection of fluoroquinolone resistance by mutation in gyrA gene of Campylobacter spp. isolates from broiler and laying (Gallus gallus domesticus) hens,from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

“…For sequencing, PCR was performed with specific primers for amplification of QRDR in the gyrA gene, CjgyrA QRDR F and CjgyrA QRDR R (PARKHILL et al, 2000;PRICE et al, 2005). The Invitrogen kit (Life Technologies/USA) was used for the reaction, with 1X PCR Buffer (500mM KCl, 100mM Tris-HCl [pH 9.0]); 5μL (1mM each) dATP, dCTP, dGTP e dTTP; 0.5μL from each primer, 1.0U Taq DNA polymerase and 2mM MgCl 2 .…”

Use of antibiotics in Austria / Antibiotikaeinsatz in Österreich

“…Linking antimicrobial consumption in animals to drug-resistant infections of humans is inherently complex owing to the ecological nature of the selection pressure for drug resistant pathogens as well as the existence of indirect routes or transmission through the environment (van Boeckel et al, 2015). However, the widespread use of antimicrobials in livestock at least contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria: antibiotic-resistant bacteria of animal origin can be transmitted to humans not only by direct contact (van Cleef et al, 2011;Smith et al, 2013) but also through the environment (Graham et al, 2009) and food products (Price et al, 2005). Antibiotics given to animals generate huge amounts of feces and urine that contain residual levels of these compounds.…”

Detecção de resistência às fluoroquinolonas em Campylobacter isolados de frangos de criação orgânica

“…Os primers CjgyrA QRDR F e CjgyrA QRDR R (Parkhill et al 2000, Price et al 2005, específicos para amplificar a RDRQ do gene gyrA, foram utilizados. Para a reação foi utilizado 50µL contendo 5µL, 1X PCR Buffer (500 mM KCl, 100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.5]), 5μL (1mM cada) dATP, dCTP, dGTP e dTTP, 0,5μL de cada primer, 1.0 U Taq DNA polymerase e 2 mM MgCl 2 .…”