Prevalence and resistance to antibiotics of Campylobacter spp. isolated from chicken meat in the central area of Turkey

The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. from chicken samples purchased from retail outlets in Ankara, between June 2005 and May 2006. In total, 125 chicken samples were analysed during this period and after isolation, identification and biotyping was performed according to Lior's scheme. Out of the 125 samples of raw chicken (wing, breast and thigh) and chicken by-products (liver and intestine), 107 (85.6%) were contaminated with Campylobacter (C.) spp. Of the 300 Campylobacter spp. isolates from all of the chicken samples analysed 76.3% were confirmed as C. jejuni, 17.0% as C. coli and the remaining 6.7% as C. lari. Antibiotic resistance of thermophilic Campylobacter spp., particularly to fluoroquinolones, has now emerged globally. All isolates of this study were tested for resistance to six antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, doxacillin and erythromycin) using the disc diffusion assay. Among all antimicrobials tested, resistance to ciprofloxacin was the highest. Considering resistance by species, C. coli and C. lari were generally more resistant than C. jejuni to one or more antimicrobial agents tested. Interestingly, C. jejuni and C. coli isolates showed a low level of resistance to erythromycin while none of the C. lari isolates were resistant to this antimicrobial. Therefore, erythromycin is considered the drug of choice for the treatment of Campylobacter spp. infections. The study concluded that a high proportion of chicken meat and chicken by-products marketed in the area of Ankara is contaminated by Campylobacter spp. which are antimicrobial-resistant strains resulting in a possible risk from such microorganisms especially from consumption of undercooked or post-cooking contaminated chicken products. Due to high contamination rates of retail chicken meat and chicken by-products, special attention must he paid to good manufacturing of food processors. Further studies should be carried out to assess the risk factors of microbial contamination in the production chain of these products.