Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter Species Isolated from Backyard Chickens in Grenada, West Indies
Ravindra Sharma *
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
Keshaw Tiwari
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
Vanessa Mathew Belmar
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
Sunil Kumar
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
Sagar M. Goyal
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
Victor A. Amadi
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
Natalie Watson
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
Harry Hariharan
Department of Pathobiolgy, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in free range chickens in Grenada, West Indies and to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates.
Study Design: Cloacal swabs were collected from 315 free range chickens from randomly selected households from all six parishes of Grenada between June and July 2014. Cloacal swabs were cultured for Campylobacter in the Pathobiology Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary medicine, St. Georges University Grenada. Isolates were further tested through PCR for speciation.
Methodology: Standard culture methods for isolation of Campylobacter spp were used. Isolates were characterized by conventional phenotypic tests and confirmed by PCR using species specific primers. The 16s rRNA gene for Campylobacter spp.; the map A gene for C. jejuni and the ceuE gene for C. coli were selected for PCR. Isolates were tested through E-test for their antimicrobial susceptibility using Ampicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Chloramphenicol, Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Metronidazole and Tetracycline.
Results: A total of 158 isolates (50.2%) were obtained by culture. PCR on 93 isolates identified 33 isolates as C. jejuni, 6 as C. coli and 54 as mixed infection with C. jejuni and C. coli. None of the isolates was resistant to chloramphenicol and erythromycin; susceptibility to other antimicrobials varied among isolates. Multidrug resistance was high in C. coli (33.3%), followed by mixed infection isolates (22.2%) and C. jejuni (12.0%).
Conclusion: Results of the study show that approximately 50% of backyard chickens in Grenada harbor Campylobacter spp. These backyard chickens pose a great risk for humans as hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) is not observed during the slaughter and processing of these chickens.
Keywords: Campylobacter spp, backyard chickens, antimicrobial testing, Grenada (West Indies)