Abstract
Campylobacter spp. is a significant and prevalent public health hazard globally. Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequently recovered species from human cases and poultry are considered the most important reservoir for its transmission to humans. In this study, 30 Campylobacter jejuni isolates were selected from clinical (n = 15) and broiler (n = 15) sources from a larger cohort, based on source, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance profiles. The objective of this study was to further characterise the genomes of these isolates including MLST types, population structure, pan-genome, as well as virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants. A total of 18 sequence types and 12 clonal complexes were identified. The most common clonal complex was ST-45, which was found in both clinical and broiler samples. We characterised the biological functions that were associated with the core and accessory genomes of the isolates in this study. No significant difference in the prevalence of virulence or antimicrobial resistance determinants was observed between clinical and broiler isolates, although genes associated with severe illness such as neuABC, wlaN and cstIII were only detected in clinical isolates. The ubiquity of virulence factors associated with motility, invasion and cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) synthesis in both clinical and broiler C. jejuni genomes and genetic similarities between groups of broiler and clinical C. jejuni reaffirm that C. jejuni from poultry remains a significant threat to public health.
Highlights
Campylobacter is the most prevalent bacterial foodborne zoonosis globally, with over 200,000 cases reported annually in the European Union [1]
The third encodes a galactosyltransferase component of LOS synthesis, galT, and reportedly may affect biofilm formation [68]. While these genes may confer an advantage for chick colonisation, they may not be essential for human colonisation. We found that they had a low prevalence of 9.8% (CJE0998), 12.5% (JJD26997_0895), and 4.5% (CJJ81176_1165) in the clinical isolates from Redondo et al (2019), which reflects that they are likely not essential for human infection, they were present in these isolates, which indicates that they are not exclusively found in broiler isolates
The prevalence of lineages associated with severe human illness may pose a risk to public health
Summary
Campylobacter is the most prevalent bacterial foodborne zoonosis globally, with over 200,000 cases reported annually in the European Union [1]. Most infections are generally self-limiting and consist of diarrhoea (which may be watery or haemorrhagic), myalgia, abdominal cramps, while fever, nausea and vomiting may be present [2, 3]. Symptoms first appear within 48h of ingestion and subside after 7–10 days without medical intervention [4]. More serious complications can arise in a subset of cases, which include Guillain Barre Syndrome, Miller Fisher Syndrome, reactive arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and bacteraemia [3].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
