Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Campylobacter spp. Recovered from Chicken Farms in Two Districts of Bangladesh

Mehedi Hasan; Sudipta Talukder; Amit Kumar Mandal; Syeda Tanjina Tasmim; Sonia Parvin; Yamin Ali; Mahmudul Hasan Sikder; Thomas J Callaghan; Ricardo J Soares Magalhães; Taohidul Islam

doi:10.1089/fpd.2023.0079

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Campylobacter spp. Recovered from Chicken Farms in Two Districts of Bangladesh

Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2024 Apr 2. doi: 10.1089/fpd.2023.0079. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Population Medicine and AMR Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
² Department of Livestock Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
⁴ UQ Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Children's Health and Environment Program, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 38563794
DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2023.0079

Abstract

The rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Campylobacter has reinforced its status as a foodborne pathogen of significant public health concern. Resistant Campylobacter is typically transferred to humans via the consumption of contaminated animal products, particularly poultry. The genes associated with antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp. are poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a prevalence survey of AMR Campylobacter across 84 chicken farms in two districts of Bangladesh. Pooled cloacal swabs were collected from chickens and underwent bacteriological testing for Campylobacter spp. with PCR confirmation. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested against 14 antibiotics by disk diffusion method, and 12 resistance genes were screened in Campylobacter-positive isolates using multiplex PCR. A total of 34 (40.5%) farms were Campylobacter-positive of which 73.5% of isolates were resistant to at least 10 antibiotics. The antimicrobial susceptibility results indicate a high level of resistance against streptomycin (97.1%), clindamycin (97.1%), ampicillin (94.1%), tetracycline (94.1%), erythromycin (91.2%), ciprofloxacin (88.2%), nalidixic acid (85.3%), and imipenem (82.4%), and comparatively a low frequency of resistance to chloramphenicol (47.1%), ceftazidime (44.1%), and colistin (35.3%). Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant Campylobacter were identified in 97.1%, and 50% of isolates, respectively. Ten resistance genes were identified including bla_TEM (in 97.1% of isolates), strA-strB (85.9%), tetA (70.6%), tetB (32.4%), qnrS (23.5%), bla_CTX-M-1 (20.6%), qnrB (20.6%), bla_SHV (8.8%), aadB (5.9%), and qnrA (2.9%). Our findings demonstrate that resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, and ceftazidime in Campylobacter isolates was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with the presence of bla_TEM, tetA, and bla_SHV genes, respectively. The high rates of AMR in Campylobacter isolates from our study are not surprising given the liberal use of antimicrobials and incomplete biosecurity provisions on farms. Of particular concern are resistance rates to those classes of antibiotics that should be reserved for human use (azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and colistin). AMR was more prevalent in chicken farms that used multiple antibiotics, engaged in prophylactic treatment of the birds, and improperly disposed of antibiotic packages. The high prevalence of MDR in chicken-derived Campylobacter isolates from the different regions of our study reinforces the need for more prudent use of antimicrobial compounds in Bangladeshi chicken farms.

Keywords: Campylobacter; antimicrobial usage; chickens; extensively drug resistance; multidrug resistance; resistance genes.