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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #170833
Title: PHENOTYPIC AND GENOTYPIC COMPARISONS OF CAMPYLOBACTER ISOLATED FROM U.S. DAIRY COWS

Author
item Harvey, Roger
item Hume, Michael
item Droleskey, Robert - Bob
item Edrington, Thomas
item Sheffield, Cynthia
item Callaway, Todd
item Ziprin, Richard
item SCOTT, H - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item Anderson, Robin
item Nisbet, David

Submitted to: Current Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/17/2004
Publication Date: 3/20/2005
Citation: Harvey, R.B., Hume, M.E., Droleskey, R.E., Edrington, T.S., Sheffield, C.L., Callaway, T.R., Ziprin, R.L., Scott, H.M., Anderson, R.C., Nisbet, D.J. 2005. Further characterization of Campylobacter isolated from U.S. dairy cows. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 2:182-187.

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter are bacteria that are responsible for the majority of U.S. foodborne illness each year, causing billions of dollars in medical costs and lost productivity. Additionally, antibiotic resistance is on the increase in Campylobacter. In this study, we determined that in dairy cows, prevalence of these bacteria is low, that antibiotic resistance is low, and that some of the same strains can be found in cows over the whole U.S. These findings are important because they can give us more information on how to predict and prevent some of the conditions associated with this costly disease.

Technical Abstract: The objective of the present study was to compare the genotypes and phenotypes of 30 Campylobacter isolated from lactating dairy cows in the U.S. Twenty-seven of the isolates were identified by PCR as Campylobacter jejuni and three were identified as Campylobacter coli. Genotypic patterns were determined by PFGE and although isolates originated from geographically separated regions of the U.S., they were identified as clonal. In contrast to their genetic similarity, antibiotic sensitivity patterns differed within clones. We could not determine how these clones became dispersed over such a large area. Most isolates were sensitive to 11 antibiotics tested and very few multi-resistant Campylobacter were found. The most common resistance patterns were to lincomycin and tetracycline. Under the conditions of our study, we concluded that the primary Campylobacter isolate from dairy cows is C. jejuni, that antibiotic resistance is low, that ribotyping is not as discriminatory as PCR for speciation, and that the transmission dynamics of Campylobacter from animal to animal is poorly understood.