Abstract

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from animal production and Meat in Chile. Lapierre L., Vergara C., Cornejo J., Araya C., San Martín B. Faculty of Veterinary, University of Chile, Santiago-Chile. Email: [email protected]. The responsible use of antibiotics in animal production should be aimed to improve sanitary status of the flock ensuring that the food products intended for human consumption are safe, and looking after environmental sustainability. The main consequence of introducing antimicrobial agents in productive systems are the favorable conditions for the selection, propagation and persistence of antimicrobial resistant zoonotic bacteria’s which can be transferred to man and into the environment. Risk increases when these resistant strains are food-borne pathogens causing severe gastroenteritis in humans, as Campylobacter jejuni. Objective: Isolate Campylobacter jejuni strains from food-producing animal’s feces (chickens, turkeys and cattle) and their edible tissues in order to assess their susceptibility to five antimicrobials used for the treatment of infections in human patients. Materials and methods: In animal feces strains were isolated following the recommendations of World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), for meat samples the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM, FDA) protocols where used. All the isolated strains were analyzed by the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration technique (MIC) described by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) for the following antibiotics: Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Nalidix Acid, and Tetracycline. Results and discussion: 65 chicken, 64 turkey and 56 cattle strains were isolated from feces. In meat samples the number of strains isolated for poultry, turkey and beef were 25, 29 and 17. For these isolated strains percentages of resistance were, respectively: Ciprofloxacin 68.4%, 67.2%, 5.3% (feces), 12%, 24.1%, 0% (meat); erythromycin 77.7%, 21%, 1.6 (feces), 12%, 41.3%, 0% (meat); nalidix acid 52%, 78%, 18.5% (feces), 25%, 86.2%, 11.7% (meat). None of the isolated strains was resistant to gentamicin. These results show high percentages of antibiotics resistance strains, particularly in chicken and turkey samples, probably to high selection pressure because of the density of the populations in the productive systems. The lower percentages observed in meat can be attributed to the slaughter and food process. Conclusions: Obtained results show the importance of responsible and sustainable use of antibiotics in food-producing animals, in order to reduce the resistance to antibiotics that are used in both veterinary and human medicine, especially in zoonotic food-borne pathogens as Campylobacter jejuni. Financial support: FONDECYT 11110200.