Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze prevalence, and pheno- and genotypic characteristics of C. jejuni/coli isolated from chicken and duck carcasses at wet markets in Korea.
Methods: One hundred sixty samples of poultry carcasses (chicken and duck) were analyzed by PCR and mCCDA medium to evaluate the prevalence of C. jejuni/coli during summer from June to August. Isolated colonies on the medium were further analyzed for antibiotic resistances to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, erythromycin, enrofloxacin, amikacin and chloramphenicol, using agar dilution method and for presence of cytolethal distending toxin genes (cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC) with PCR. The isolated colonies were also used for serotyping, and genotyping to evaluate genetic correlations among isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
Results: C. jejuni/coli were isolated from 22 samples [7 chicken samples (8.8%), 15 duck samples (18.8%)], and 19 isolates of 22 isolates were C. jejuni, and three isolates were C. coli. The antibiotic resistances of Campylobacter were observed to enrofloxacin, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin, and most isolates had all of cdt A, B, and C genes. As a result of genotyping by PFGE, only 2 isolates (C. jejuni) of 22 strains showed high genetic correlation (96.8%).
Significance: These results indicate that poultry carcasses in wet markets were contaminated with C. jejuni/coli at relatively high prevalence rate, and the isolates had antibiotic resistance and cytolethal distending toxin genes. Thus, food safety management to control C. jejuni/coli should be improved.