Detección y caracterización de Campylobacter spp. en muestras de alimentos destinados a consumo humano
Degree Final Project defended by Mª del Pilar Gómez Martínez
July 29th, 2020
Campylobacteriosis is the main foodborne zoonosis worldwide and in Europe. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter, especially Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, with the first one being the main cause of human gastroenteritis. The main route of transmission is food, mainly after consumption of contaminated food, and the most common source of human infection is usually contaminated and undercooked chicken meat. Campylobacteriosis is a diarrheal disease that is usually self-limiting, although it can occasionally trigger serious complications such as the Guillain-Barré Syndrome. When treatment is required, antibiotics must be prescribed with caution and bearing in mind the risk of selecting for antimicrobial resistances, which pose a serious threat to public health.
In this study, we have evaluated the presence of thermophilic species of Campylobacter and their levels of resistance to a panel of six antimicrobials in food samples (chicken and turckey) intended for human consumption, collected at different points of sale in the Community of Madrid during the period 2005-2019 (chicken meat) and 2019 (turkey meat).
Overall a prevalence of 36.2% of Campylobacter in chicken samples and 42.2% turkey simples was found. Campylobacter coli was the most frequent species in the case of chicken simples and Campylobacter jejuni in case of turkey. Certain types of meat presentation, such as skinned chicken, had a higher risk of isolation of the pathogen. The resistance levels were generally high and higher than those described for other countries in the European Union for the same type of samples, being extremely high in the case of quinolones and tetracyclines. About a 60% of the strains in the study were classified as multiresistant and only 5.6% were susceptible to al antimicrobials analyzed. Furthermore, the percentage of resistant isolates was higher in Campylobacter coli strains than in those of Campylobacter jejuni.
Our results highlight the importance of carrying out strategies for the control of campylobacteriosis from farm to fork, as well as of the existence of a surveillance system to assess the evolution of the prevalence of Campylobacter in humans, animals, food and the environment
