Trends in the occurrence and characteristics of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from poultry meat in Northern Poland

- We report a decreasing trend of Campylobacter spp. occurrence in poultry meat at retail.
- High prevalence of the flaA, cadF, cdtB and iam genes in C. jejuni and C. coli isolates.
- Emergence of macrolide resistant Campylobacter spp. strains in food of animal origin.

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in poultry meat available in retail stores in the northern part of Poland during a five-year period (2009-2013). A total of 742 poultry meat samples were collected from butcher shops and supermarkets including the following types of samples: chicken breast filets (n = 133), turkey breast filets (n = 112), chicken wings (n = 135), chicken leg quarters (n = 128), chicken drumsticks (n = 115), and chicken giblets (n = 119).The results indicated that 41.6% of the samples were positive for Campylobacter spp., and Campylobacter jejuni was predominant in this study. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. changed during the study period, decreasing from 60.2% in 2009 to 32% in 2013.The characterization of the isolates revealed a high prevalence of Campylobacter virulence genes. All Campylobacter spp. isolates from poultry meat contained the cadF gene, which is responsible for adherence. The flaA gene, which is involved in motility, was present in all C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains. The cdtB, which is associated with toxin production, was present in 93.3% of C. jejuni strains and 89.6% of C. coli strains. The iam gene, which is associated with the invasiveness of Campylobacter spp., was predominant in C. coli strains (95.6%) compared to C. jejuni strains (84.5%).Resistance to four antimicrobials was also examined. The prevalence of resistance among the obtained C. jejuni and C. coli isolates was as follows: ciprofloxacin (62.8% and 72.2%, respectively), tetracycline (42.3% and 42.6%, respectively), erythromycin (3% and 1.7%, respectively) and azithromycin (1%). Multidrug resistance was more frequent among C. jejuni isolates (29.8%) than among C. coli isolates (18.2%).In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrated the importance of poultry meat as a source of Campylobacter spp., especially macrolide-resistant strains. The trend of decreasing Campylobacter spp. occurrence in retail poultry meat in this region of Poland requires further investigation, and monitoring.