Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Campylobacter from Humans, Retail Chicken Meat, and Cattle Feces

Abstract

We determined the antimicrobial resistance profiles of Campylobacter isolates from cases of sporadic human infection (n = 119), retail chicken meat (n = 105), and cattle feces (n = 105). Ampicillin and tetracycline resistance was highest in human isolates (32% and 29%, respectively) and retail chicken isolates (25% and 25%, respectively), whereas nalidixic acid resistance was highest in cattle fecal isolates (20%). We found that the antimicrobial resistance profiles were more similar in human and chicken meat isolates than those observed when comparing human and cattle fecal isolates. When we analyzed the distribution of minimum inhibitory concentrations for each antibiotic, in each host, the distribution was similar between human and chicken meat isolates, whereas cattle fecal isolates remained highly distinct from the other two hosts. This study suggests that chicken may be a major source of human Campylobacter infection and that the antimicrobial resistances found in the Campylobacter from this source will therefore also be prevalent in clinical isolates.