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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Produce Safety and Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338090
Research Project: Molecular Identification and Characterization of Bacterial and Viral Pathogens Associated with Foods

Location: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research

Title: Relation between broiler and human C. jejuni strains isolated in Belgium from 2011 to 2013

Author
item DUARTE, ALEXANDRA - Ghent University
item BOTTELDOORN, NADINE - Scientific Institute Of Public Health
item Miller, William - Bill
item COUCKE, WIM - Scientific Institute Of Public Health
item MARTINY, DELPHINE - Saint Pierre University Hospital
item HALLIN, MARIE - Saint Pierre University Hospital
item SELIWIORSTOW, TOMASZ - Ghent University
item DE ZUTTER, LIEVEN - Ghent University
item UYTTENDAELE, MIEKE - Ghent University
item VANDENBERG, OLIVIER - Saint Pierre University Hospital
item DIERICK, KATELIJNE - Saint Pierre University Hospital

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2018
Publication Date: 12/17/2018
Citation: Duarte, A., Botteldoorn, N., Miller, W.G., Coucke, W., Martiny, D., Hallin, M., Seliwiorstow, T., De Zutter, L., Uyttendaele, M., Vandenberg, O., Dierick, K. 2018. Relation between broiler and human C. jejuni strains isolated in Belgium from 2011 to 2013. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 126:277-287. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14132.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14132

Interpretive Summary: The food-borne pathogen Campylobacter is a natural contaminant of most birds and livestock. Multiple typing methods exist for Campylobacter; however, the effectiveness of these typing methods depends on the size and identity of the sample set. Here, five typing methods were tested, alone and in pair-wise combinations, on a set of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from chicken broiler carcasses and human clinical samples in Belgium. The discriminatory power of each typing method varied, as expected. A DNA sequencing-based method, MLST, was the most discriminatory typing method. The addition of a second typing method, essentially adding an eighth DNA sequence to the MLST set of seven, improved the typing capability of MLST. Similar improvements in strain discrimination were also observed if antibiotic resistance profiles were included. Since MLST is an easy typing method, readily available to and commonly used by clinical labs, use of this method is recommended for epidemiological surveillance of the food supply and outbreak investigations.

Technical Abstract: This study describes the relationship between Campylobacter jejuni isolated, from broiler carcasses (n = 97) and human clinical samples (n = 72) in Belgium, from 2011 to 2013. Relationships were determined using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and MLST combined with: flagellin gene A restriction fragment length polymorphism (flaA–RFLP) typing; antibiotic microbiological resistance profiling (AMRp); lipooligosaccharide (LOS) class typing; or virulence gene profiling (Vp) that screened for the presence/absence of cadF, ceuE, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC. Human and broiler carcass strains were present in common MLST clusters. By combining MLST with flaA-RFLP typing or AMRp, a higher discrimination was obtained. Logical chronologically-related broiler-human MLST (n = 14), MLST/flaA-RFLP (n = 17) and MLST/AMRp (n = 11) clusters were observed: i.e., the isolates would first be detected in the broiler meat and at the same time or later in humans. This study indicates that broiler carcasses have a high potential of being a source of human campylobacteriosis in Belgium.