Prevalence, antibiograms, and transferable tet(O) plasmid of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from raw chicken, pork, and human clinical cases in Korea

J Food Prot. 2010 Aug;73(8):1430-7. doi: 10.4315/0362-028x-73.8.1430.

Abstract

The antibiotic resistance patterns and prevalence of the transferable tet(O) plasmid were investigated in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from raw chicken, pork, and humans with clinical campylobacteriosis. A total of 180 C. jejuni and C. coli isolates were identified, and the prevalence rates of C. jejuni and C. coli in raw chicken samples were 83% (83 of 100) and 73% (73 of 100), respectively. Twelve percent (6 of 50) and 10% (5 of 50) of pork samples were contaminated with C. jejuni and C. coli, respectively. Disk diffusion susceptibility testing revealed that the most frequently detected resistance was to tetracycline (92.2%), followed by nalidixic acid (75.6%), ciprofloxacin (65.0%), azithromycin (41.5%), ampicillin (33.3%), and streptomycin (26.1%). Of the C. jejuni and C. coli isolates, 65.7% (n=109) contained plasmids carrying the tet(O) gene. Six C. jejuni isolates and two C. coli isolates with high-level resistance to tetracycline (MIC=256 microg/ml) harbored the tet(O) plasmid, which is transferable to other C. jejuni and C. coli isolates. These results demonstrate the presence of an interspecies transferable plasmid containing the tet(O) gene and a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Korean Campylobacter isolates and provide an understanding of the antibiotic resistance distribution among Campylobacter species in Korea.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Campylobacter coli / drug effects*
  • Campylobacter coli / isolation & purification
  • Campylobacter jejuni / drug effects*
  • Campylobacter jejuni / isolation & purification
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Chickens / microbiology*
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Consumer Product Safety
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial* / genetics
  • Food Contamination / analysis
  • Food Microbiology
  • Humans
  • Korea
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Prevalence
  • Swine / microbiology*
  • Tetracycline Resistance / genetics

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Tet O resistance protein, Bacteria