Prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in Chicken Carcasses in Slaughterhouses from South of Brazil.

Campylobacteriosis has become common cause of diarrhea in humans and is associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Reactive Arthritis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome is caused mainly by contaminated food and water intake in which the majority occurs from manipulation, preparation and consumption of poultry meat. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Campylobacter in chicken carcasses from slaughterhouses located in the states of Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul in the South of Brazil. The samples were analyzed for Campylobacter enumeration using the ISO method 10272-2 and the species C. jejuni and C. coli, important for public health, were identified through Maldi-TOF mass spectrometry. From July 2017 to July 2018, 816 samples were analyzed, indicating the prevalence of 35.84%, with higher occurrence of C. jejuni (78.47%). No difference in prevalence was observed in relation to the size of the slaughterhouses. However, significant differences were noted among the three states in the southern region of the country, with the lowest prevalence being observed in Parana. The results reinforce the need to advance in the implementation of strategies to control this pathogen in the country, in order to safeguard consumer's health and contribute for the maintenance of Brazil's position in the international poultry meat market.

Five centuries of genome evolution and multi-host adaptation of Campylobacter jejuni in Brazil.

Consumption of raw, undercooked or contaminated animal food products is a frequent cause of Campylobacter jejuni infection. Brazil is the world's third largest producer and a major exporter of chicken meat, yet population-level genomic investigations of C. jejuni in the country remain scarce. Analysis of 221 C. jejuni genomes from Brazil shows that the overall core and accessory genomic features of C. jejuni are influenced by the identity of the human or animal source. Of the 60 sequence types detected, ST353 is the most prevalent and consists of samples from chicken and human sources. Notably, we identified the presence of diverse bla genes from the OXA-61 and OXA-184 families that confer beta-lactam resistance as well as the operon cmeABCR related to multidrug efflux pump, which contributes to resistance against tetracyclines, macrolides and quinolones. Based on limited data, we estimated the most recent common ancestor of ST353 to the late 1500s, coinciding with the time the Portuguese first arrived in Brazil and introduced domesticated chickens into the country. We identified at least two instances of ancestral chicken-to-human infections in ST353. The evolution of C. jejuni in Brazil was driven by the confluence of clinically relevant genetic elements, multi-host adaptation and clonal population growth that coincided with major socio-economic changes in poultry farming.

Multi-virulence of Campylobacter jejuni carried by chicken meat in Brazil.

Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent cause of bacterial gastroenteritis; therefore, the characteristics of its epidemiology must be continuously investigated to support possible mitigating measures. This is particularly important when evaluating representative strains from the world's leading chicken meat exporter, Brazil. We evaluated a panel of 14 virulence genes in 359 strains of C. jejuni isolated from chilled broiler carcasses in Brazil. The genes were classified into five virulence categories (B: biofilm/motility; SS: secretion/cytotoxicity system; CI: invasion/colonization; GB: Guillain-Barré; and AE: adaptation to stress). The percentage of strains with stress adaptation genes (86.07%) indicates the ability to survive in unfavorable environments; in addition, the strains showed a risk of causing infections in humans due to the frequency of the hcp gene (97.77%). Genes related to Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in 77.44% of strains are an additional concern, which must be monitored. The gene panel showed the presence of 124 virulence profiles. Individual analyses by carcass, slaughter establishment, and municipalities in which they were located showed high index variabilities (I.Var.) of 0.82, 0.87, and 0.78, respectively. Georeferencing indicated the state of Paraná as a hotspot for virulent strains. Higher levels of isolation and multi-virulence were identified in the summer, which is hot and humid in Brazil. Together, our results showed that the studied strains are a potential danger to public health and that there is an urgent need for their surveillance and the adoption of control measures, especially in the state of Paraná.