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. 2019 Oct 11;14(10):e0223804.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223804. eCollection 2019.

Antimicrobial resistance genotypes and phenotypes of Campylobacter jejuni isolated in Italy from humans, birds from wild and urban habitats, and poultry

Francesca Marotta  1 , Giuliano Garofolo  1 , Lisa di Marcantonio  1 , Gabriella Di Serafino  1 , Diana Neri  1 , Romina Romantini  1 , Lorena Sacchini  1 , Alessandra Alessiani  1 , Guido Di Donato  1 , Roberta Nuvoloni  2 , Anna Janowicz  1 , Elisabetta Di Giannatale  1
Affiliations

Antimicrobial resistance genotypes and phenotypes of Campylobacter jejuni isolated in Italy from humans, birds from wild and urban habitats, and poultry

Francesca Marotta et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni, a common foodborne zoonotic pathogen, causes gastroenteritis worldwide and is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. We aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genotypes of C. jejuni isolated from humans, poultry and birds from wild and urban Italian habitats to identify correlations between phenotypic and genotypic AMR in the isolates. Altogether, 644 C. jejuni isolates from humans (51), poultry (526) and wild- and urban-habitat birds (67) were analysed. The resistance phenotypes of the isolates were determined using the microdilution method with EUCAST breakpoints, and AMR-associated genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms were obtained from a publicly available database. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that C. jejuni isolates from poultry and humans were highly resistant to ciprofloxacin (85.55% and 76.47%, respectively), nalidixic acid (75.48% and 74.51%, respectively) and tetracycline (67.87% and 49.02%, respectively). Fewer isolates from the wild- and urban-habitat birds were resistant to tetracycline (19.40%), fluoroquinolones (13.43%), and quinolone and streptomycin (10.45%). We retrieved seven AMR genes (tet (O), cmeA, cmeB, cmeC, cmeR, blaOXA-61 and blaOXA-184) and gyrA-associated point mutations. Two major B-lactam genes called blaOXA-61 and blaOXA-184 were prevalent at 62.93% and 82.08% in the poultry and the other bird groups, respectively. Strong correlations between genotypic and phenotypic resistance were found for fluoroquinolones and tetracycline. Compared with the farmed chickens, the incidence of AMR in the C. jejuni isolates from the other bird groups was low, confirming that the food-production birds are much more exposed to antimicrobials. The improper and overuse of antibiotics in the human population and in animal husbandry has resulted in an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections, particularly fluoroquinolone resistant ones. Better understanding of the AMR mechanisms in C. jejuni is necessary to develop new strategies for improving AMR programs and provide the most appropriate therapies to human and veterinary populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Percentage of C. jejuni strains isolated from chickens, birds from wild and urban habitats, and from humans showing resistance to antimicrobials (shown on the x-axis).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Percentage of isolates harbouring gyrA and tet (O) genes and the multi-drug resistance-related cmeABC operon, and the percentage of B-lactam genes in the resistant isolates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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