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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371684
Research Project: Novel Pre-harvest Interventions and Alternatives to Antibiotics to Reduce Foodborne Pathogens

Location: Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit

Title: Prevalence and characterization of quinolone resistance in Campylobacter spp. isolates in chicken livers from Georgia, USA

Author
item Yeh, Hung-Yueh
item Cox Jr, Nelson
item Thompson, Tori
item Hinton Jr, Arthur

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/16/2019
Publication Date: 1/27/2020
Citation: Yeh, H., Cox Jr, N.A., Thompson, T.M., Hinton Jr, A. 2020. Prevalence and characterization of quinolone resistance in Campylobacter spp. isolates in chicken livers from Georgia, USA [abstract]. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary: none

Technical Abstract: Purpose: Bacteria that harbor various antibiotic resistance genes present a serious threat in public health worldwide. One such resistance gene is the qnr family genes. Campylobacter is the leading foodborne pathogen worldwide, and has been shown to develop resistance to fluoroquinolones, which is commonly used in human and veterinary medicine for combating multi-drug resistant bacteria. The aim of this communication was to determine the prevalence and characterization of Campylobacter isolates from retail chicken livers. Experimental design: Campylobacter spp., originally isolated from poultry livers in Georgia, USA (n = 250), were revived from the glycerol stocks on Campy Cefex agar plates. After 48 hours incubation under microaerobic conditions, a single colony from each isolation was cultured on fresh Campy Cefex agar plates. Speciation of Campylobacter spp. was performed using the end-point PCR assay as described previously. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were carried out using the Sensititre Campylobacter CAMPY plates according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Results: The results show 181 isolates and 69 isolates were identified as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, respectively, from the end-point PCR assay. A total of 93 (37.2%) of 250 Campylobacter spp. isolates were detected to have resistance to at least one antibiotic. Specifically, for 90 Campylobacter jejuni isolates, 33 isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid; 25 isolates to tetracycline; 18 isolates to nalidixic acid and tetracycline; nine isolates to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid and tetracycline; two isolates each to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, azithromycin and erythromycin, respectively; and one isolate to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, azithromycin, tetracycline and erythromycin. For Campylobacter coli, two isolates were resistant to tetracycline, and one isolate to both nalidixic acid and tetracycline. Conclusion: Based on our results, Campylobacter jejuni were prevalent in chicken livers and were resistant to the quinolone class and other antibiotics. Further evaluation of the qnr genes to determine whether these genes play a role in the quinolone resistance is needed.