CHARACTERISATION AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PATTERN OF Campylobacter jejuni AND NON-jejuni sp. ISOLATED FROM POULTRY AND HUMANS IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Campylobacter are known to be a leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis. This research to some extent reveals the trend of prevalence and antibiotic resistance among humans and poultry in the sampled area and thus, contributes to reports on Campylobacter in the Northern Ghana, which may further form the basis for future policies on management of Campylobacters in the country. The aim of this study was to characterise Campylobacter jejuni and Non-jejuni sp. isolated from poultry and humans in the Northern Region of Ghana and determine their antibiotic resistance patterns. One thousand and eighty-seven (1,087) samples comprising 346 cloacal swabs from poultry and 741 stool samples from humans were investigated. The poultry samples were sourced from commercial farms and households while human samples came from patients at Tamale Teaching hospital, Tamale Central hospital and healthy individuals in their households. Sampling took place from 25th October, 2017 to 7th May, 2018. Selective agar (Charcoal Cefoperazone Deoxycholate Agar) was used to isolate the Campylobacter species under microaerophilic conditions following confirmation with microscopy, catalase test, oxidase test and latex agglutination immunoassay using Thermo Scientific Campylobacter Test Kits (Oxoid Ltd., Basingstoke, UK). Lior`s Biotyping Scheme was employed in the detection of the C. jejuni biotypes. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used in determining the resistance profile of the species. Laboratory results and data were entered into excel and analysed with IBM SPSS version 20. Of the total 1,087 samples analysed, 245 (22.5%) were confirmed positive for Campylobacter with 149 (43.1%) and 96 (13%) isolates from poultry and humans respectively, with significant difference (P˂ 0.05). However, 105 Campylobacters of the total 245 confirmed isolates were speciated, biotyped and analysed for the susceptibility testing due to viable but non-culturable challenges pose by the others. The study further identified 68.6% (72/105) C. jejuni strains (58 isolates from poultry and 14 in humans) and 31.4% (33/105) Non-jejuni sp. (17 strains from poultry and 16 in humans). The biotypes identified were 29 (19 in poultry and 10 in humans) biotype-I, 31 (30 in poultry and 1 in humans) biotype-II, 10 (7 in poultry and 3 in humans) biotype-III and 2 (from poultry) biotype-IV. The C. jejuni biotype-II was prevalent in both poultry and humans. Of the 105 Campylobacter strains, the highest level of resistance was recorded against tetracycline (100%) while the least resisted antimicrobial was imipenem 6.7% (7/105). The isolates also recorded resistance above the rate of 50% with an observed resistance range of 56.2-93.3% to four of the antibiotics used (ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, ampicillin and ceftriaxone). Multidrug resistance rate of 96.2% (101/105) was recorded across poultry and human Campylobacter strains. Campylobacter colonisations in poultry and humans along with their high resistance profile to the commonly used antibiotics are major public health issues demanding nationwide attention.