Campylobacter spp., C. jejuni and C. upsaliensis infection-associated factors in healthy and ill dogs from clinics in Cordoba, Spain. Screening tests for antimicrobial susceptibility.

A microbiological and epidemiological survey examining Campylobacter species-related infection in dogs from clinics in Cordoba (Southern Spain) was performed from May 2007 to March 2008. Three-hundred and six rectal swabs were taken from both ill and healthy dogs, and an epidemiological questionnaire was filled out. The isolated bacterial strains were identified by means of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence factors for Campylobacter spp., C. jejuni and C. upsaliensis infection were determined by logistic regression. An antimicrobial susceptibility screening test was performed using the agar disk diffusion method. Campylobacter species were isolated from 102 samples. Forty strains (35.2%) were identified as Campylobacter jejuni, 60 strains (58.8%) as Campylobacter upsaliensis and two strains (2%) as Campylobacter spp. The sampling season was a prevalence factor for C. jejuni infection, while the age of the dog was a prevalence factor for Campylobacter spp. and C. upsaliensis infection. Enteric disease was a prevalence factor for Campylobacter spp., C. jejuni and C. upsaliensis infection. The antimicrobial susceptibility test indicated that gentamicin and erythromycin were the most effective antibiotics, with 97.8% and 88% strains sensitive to the antibiotics, respectively.

A novel method and simple apparatus for the detection of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in chicken meat products.

Conventional procedures for isolation of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. from chicken are complex, labor intensive, and time-consuming. The objective of this study was to create a novel Campylobacter culturing apparatus. A main concept of the device was based on the ability of Campylobacter to pass through a 0.45 microm pore size filter in viscous media. Preliminary study demonstrated that only viable Campylobacter moved through the membrane filter and could multiply in the enrichment culture. C. jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, and C. upsaliensis in the chicken samples were detected at cell concentrations as low as 10 cfu/g, after 24 h incubation at 42 degrees C. In total, 84 retail chicken samples were comparatively studied using both conventional method and apparatus. Sixteen samples (19.05%) were positive by the apparatus method; 14 (16.66%) of these positive samples contained C. coli and 2 (2.38%) contained C. jejuni. With the conventional method, 7 (8.33%) samples were positive 7 (8.33%) with C. coli. In conclusion, the apparatus detected more positive samples than did the conventional culture method.

Speciation of Campylobacter coli, C. jejuni, C. helveticus, C. lari, C. sputorum, and C. upsaliensis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry.

Multiple strains of Campylobacter coli, C. jejuni, C. helveticus, C. lari, C. sputorum, and C. upsaliensis isolated from animal, clinical, or food samples have been analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Whole bacterial cells were harvested from colonies or confluent growth on agar and transferred directly into solvent and then to a spot of dried 3-methoxy-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (matrix). Multiple ions in the 5,000- to 15,000-Da mass range were evident in spectra for each strain; one or two ions in the 9,500- to 11,000-Da range were consistently high intensity. "Species-identifying" biomarker ions (SIBIs) were evident from analyses of multiple reference strains for each of the six species, including the genome strains C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and C. jejuni RM1221. Strains grown on nine different combinations of media and atmospheres yielded SIBI masses within +/-5 Da with external instrument calibration. The highest-intensity C. jejuni SIBIs were cytosolic proteins, including GroES, HU/HCj, and RplL. Multiple intraspecies SIBIs, corresponding probably to nonsynonymous nucleotide polymorphisms, also provided some intraspecies strain differentiation. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of 75 additional Campylobacter strains isolated from humans, poultry, swine, dogs, and cats revealed (i) associations of SIBI type with source, (ii) strains previously speciated incorrectly, and (iii) "strains" composed of more than one species. MALDI-TOF MS provides an accurate, sensitive, and rapid method for identification of multiple Campylobacter species relevant to public health and food safety.