A Higher Prevalence Rate of Campylobacter in Retail Beef Livers Compared to Other Beef and Pork Meat Cuts

Aneesa Noormohamed,Mohamed Fakhr

doi:10.3390/ijerph10052058

Aneesa Noormohamed, Mohamed Fakhr

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10052058

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in retail beef, beef livers, and pork meats purchased from the Tulsa (OK, USA) area and to further characterize the isolates obtained through antimicrobial susceptibility testing. A total of 97 chilled retail beef (50 beef livers and 47 other cuts), and 100 pork samples were collected. The prevalence of Campylobacter in beef livers was 39/50 (78%), while no Campylobacter was isolated from the other beef cuts. The prevalence in pork samples was 2/100 (2%). A total of 108 Campylobacter isolates (102 beef livers isolates and six pork isolates) were subjected to antimicrobial resistance profiling against sixteen different antimicrobials that belong to eight different antibiotic classes. Of the six pork Campylobacter coli isolates, four showed resistance to all antimicrobials tested. Among the beef liver isolates, the highest antibiotic resistances were to tetracyclines and β-lactams, while the lowest resistances were to macrolides, aminoglycosides, lincosamides, and phenicols. Resistances to the fluoroquinolone, macrolide, aminoglycoside, tetracycline, β-lactam, lincosamide, and phenicol antibiotic classes were significantly higher in Campylobacter coli than Campylobacter jejuni isolates. Multidrug Resistance (MDR) among the 102 Campylobacter (33 Campylobacter jejuni and 69 Campylobacter coli) beef liver isolates was significantly higher in Campylobacter coli (62%) than Campylobacter jejuni (39%). The high prevalence of Campylobacter in retail beef livers and their antimicrobial resistance raise concern about the safety of these retail products.

Highlights

Campylobacter species are Gram-negative bacteria that are considered the second leading cause of foodborne disease in the US [1]
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in retail beef, beef livers and pork meats obtained from the Tulsa, OK area grocery stores and to further characterize the isolates obtained through antimicrobial susceptibility testing
The overall prevalence of Campylobacter (Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli) in beef livers was 39/50 (78%), whereby 13/50 (26%) of the samples was contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni, 24/50 (48%) of the samples was contaminated with Campylobacter coli, and 2/50 (4%) of the samples was contaminated with both Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli

Summary

Introduction

Campylobacter species are Gram-negative bacteria that are considered the second leading cause of foodborne disease in the US [1]. Campylobacter causes gastrointestinal diseases characterized by diarrhea (which is often bloody), abdominal cramping, fever, and vomiting [2,3]. Campylobacteriosis is usually self-limiting, but in rare cases it has been shown to trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease of the peripheral nervous system that can lead to paralysis [4,5]. The most common sources of Campylobacter are chicken and turkey products [6]. While Campylobacter jejuni is more prevalent in human infections than Campylobacter coli, 95% of infections are usually due to one of these two species [7,8]

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