Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Campylobacter Species

Thermophilic Campylobacter spp. are important causative agents of diarrhoeal disease in humans. Antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter spp. that originate from poultry can enter the human food chain and result in resistant Campylobacter spp. in human infections. Campylobacter spp. were isolated from chicken faeces collected from chicken farms near Harare. Human isolates of Campylobacter spp. were obtained from clinical laboratories in Harare. The Campylobacter isolates were identified by biochemical tests and tested for their susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs using the disc-diffusion method. A total of 77 human and 83 chicken isolates were characterised. C. jejuni was the most common in both humans (75.3) and chickens (60.2); followed by C. coli; which was detected in 19.5 of human and 28.9 of chicken isolates; and then C. lari; detected in 5.2 of human and 10.8 of chicken isolates. All the Campylobacter spp. from humans and chickens were susceptible to erythromycin and all isolates from the chickens were also susceptible to chloramphenicol and gentamicin. Over 85 of the isolates from humans and chickens were susceptible to ciprofloxacin; norfloxacin and tetracycline. Approximately 50 of the isolates from humans and 82 of those from chickens were resistant to co-trimoxazole. All the human and chicken Campylobacter isolates that were resistant to norfloxacin were also resistant to ciprofloxacin. The present study has shown low levels of resistance of Campylobacter spp. from humans and chickens to most of the antimicrobial drugs tested; with the exception of co-trimoxazole

Characterization of Ureolytic Bacteria from Nitrogenous Waste Dumps in Port Harcourt Nigeria

Three nitrogenous dump-sites viz. urinary spots; poultry dung compost and nitrogenous fertilizer storage site; and a non-nitrogenous site (as control) in Port Harcourt Metropolis; Rivers State of Nigeria; were characterised for their aerobic ureolytic bacteria isolates. The nitrogenous waste sites compared with the non-nitrogenous site clearly indicated that the TCFU of bacteria was significantly lowered as a result of dumping of all forms of nitrogenous wastes (ANOVA P = 0.019). Tentatively and cumulatively identified 10 randomly isolated aerobic bacterial species from the sites included Staphylococcus 5(12.5)*; Streptococcus 2(5.0); Proteus 8(20.0); Serratia 2(5.0); Flavobacterium /Xanthomonas 3(7.5); Escherichia coli 4(10.0); Klebsiella /Enterobacter 2(5.0) and Pseudomonas 4(10.0); Bacillus and other Gram-positive rods 10(25.0) were frequently isolated in all the samples. From these isolates; urease activity was more elaborated in the nitrogenous fertilizer dump-site in which three isolates of Proteus sp and three of Pseudomonas sp elaborated urease activity. While urease activity was also elaborated by Proteus (2 isolates) and the Klebsiella /Enterobacter (one isolate) in the urinary spot only (2 isolates) of Proteus elaborated urease activity in the poultry-dung site. It was not clear if there were physiological factors arising from human urine and poultry dung that might have limited the activity Pseudomonas sp to the nitrogenous fertilizer only. The probable source of variability in the type of urea degrading bacterial isolated from the sites and the effect of compromising microbiological environmental cleansing capability were discussed

A comparison of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms isolated from chicken and ostrich faeces in Bulawayo; Zimbabwe

Samples of fresh faeces were obtained from a free-range chicken source; three commercial chicken farms and a commercial ostrich farm; all located around Bulawayo City; Zimbabwe; in order to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of selected bacterial isolates of interest in food-related human infections. Samples were prepared at various dilutions and plated on selective media for Coryneforms; Escherichia coli; Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas. The targeted bacteria were isolated as pure cultures and tested for antibiotic resistance to ampicillin; chloramphenicol; oxytetracycline; sulphonamide; streptomycin and tetracycline. Isolates from the faeces of chickens and ostriches in the commercial farms were found to be generally more resistant to streptomycin; tetracycline and oxytetracycline as compared to those from the free- range chickens. This study emphasizes the need to monitor antibiotic resistance genes in the environment and to curb/curtail antibiotic use for growth promotion in farm animals; particularly in developing countries; as continued use will only add to the growing problem of microbial antibiotic resistance

Potential sources of campylobacter species in the homes of farm workers in Zimbabwe

Chicken faeces; houseflies; household stored drinking water; cooked or prepared foods and handwashing of people of all age groups and hands of children under 5 years old were examined as potential sources and transmission routes of canpylobacter species in a farmworker community. Campylobacter species were found to be common in chicken faeces collected from the homesteads of the farmworkers but were rarely isolated from houseflies or household stored drinking water. They were not isolated from foods and hands of people of all ages. A comparison of campylobacter species isolated from humans and chickens showed campylobacter jejuni to be more common than campylobacter coli in human isolates while the two species were evenly distributed in chickens. Most of the C. jejuni isolates from humans and chickens belonged to biotype II and none belonged to biotype III. There was some similarity in some C. jejuni serotypes isolated from humans and chickens. Chickens were therefore found to be the main potential source of campylobacter species in the homes of farmworkers