Prevalence, Risk Factors Analysis and Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Campylobacter Species Isolated from Food Animals in District Okara, Pakistan

Campylobacter, one of the most prevalent bacteria responsible for gastroenteritis in human worldwide. Campylobacter infections result from ingestion of contaminated food and water depending upon susceptibility of individuals and virulence of infecting strain. The prevalence of these bacteria is highly diverse and present worldwide. Increase in antibiotic resistance among these bacteria is recognized as emerging public health problem. Current study is designed to analyze the risk factors related with Campylobacteriosis, prevalence in meat (chicken, beef and mutton) and antimicrobial resistance profiles of these bacteria from district Okara, Pakistan. The time span for lab work was from October 2020 to March 2021including sampling and testing. A total of 300 swab samples were collected from poultry, beef and mutton. The ISO 10272-1:217(E) method for isolation through biochemical and molecular identification carried out. Disc diffusion method used for AMR calculation. The overall prevalence of campylobacter was only 2%, detected only in poultry meat out of 300 samples. Among the isolated strains, Campylobacter indicated highest resistance against Tetracycline 100%, followed by Cefotaxime, Tylocine 83%, Enrofloxacin 66%, Clindamycin and Nalidixic acid 50%, lowest resistance against Streptomycin and Doxycycline only 33% and 16% respectively. The significance relation was obtained for two variables that include eating during dealing meat and contact of excreta with meat. Prevalence of Campylobacter is very low as compared to study conducted earlier in Pakistan. The drug of choice for Campylobacter related infections is doxycycline and streptomycin. The results indicate that prevalence of Campylobacter is very low on meat in Okara region but higher microbial resistance.