Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni in Georgian Retail Chicken: Isolation, Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility

Abstract

Campylobacter species have been presently recognized as the most frequent cause of enteric infections worldwide. To date, the prevalence and significance of Campylobacter infections in Georgia have not been assessed. This study aims to partially address this circumstance and provide some information on the prevalence of Campylobacter species in retail chicken meats sold in Tbilisi supermarkets. A total of 200 chicken meats were purchased during a two-year period. The purchased meat samples represented 6 different Georgian chicken meat producers. After isolation, 74 samples (37 %) were found to be harboring either Campylobacter jejuni or Campylobacter coli, as confirmed by MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. The isolated C. jejuni and C. coli strains were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by the disc diffusion method. C. jejuni and C. coli demonstrated high resistance to several types of antibiotics, such as ampicillin (28% and 51 %, respectively), ciprofloxacin (79 % and 97 %, respectively) and tetracycline (28 % and 51 %, respectively). This study concludes that 37 % of Georgian chicken meat harbors Campylobacter species. Most certainly, the real rate of contamination of chicken meat with these microorganisms is much higher, due to the difficulty of their isolation. Phenotypically, the local C. jejuni isolates differ from those of C. jejuni ATCC 33560. Further studies are needed to show the clonality of the Campylobacter isolates, as well as their association with the diarrheal disease among patients diagnosed with enteric infections in Georgia.