Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Agnes Sjöbergin katu 2, Helsinki, FI-00790, Finland.
Acta Vet Scand. 2023 Aug 1;65(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13028-023-00698-7.
Campylobacter spp., especially C. jejuni, is the most common zoonotic pathogen in humans worldwide. In Nordic countries, the prevalence of C. jejuni in broilers, which is an important reservoir of human infections, is generally low. Thus, other sources of domestically acquired infections besides chicken meat need to be considered. Game birds are known to carry a variety of zoonotic agents, including Campylobacter. The aim of this study was to investigate Campylobacter spp. carriage in a flock of reared pheasants at hunting in two successive samplings to better understand the dynamics of Campylobacter infections in pheasants. Overall, 72% of the intestinal samples were positive for Campylobacter spp. by direct culture on mCCDA. C. jejuni was the only species identified. The isolates were genotyped using whole genome sequencing (WGS), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and ad hoc whole genome MLST (wgMLST). Two distinct C. jejuni clones were identified among the 18 isolates studied, representing MLST sequence types (STs) ST-45 and ST-699. The ST-45 isolates were closely related to previous human clinical isolates using core genome MLST (cgMLST). In contrast, the ST-699 isolates forming the dominant clone in the latter sampling were quite distinct from previously described cgMLST profiles from different hosts and sources worldwide. In conclusion, the intestine of reared pheasants is commonly colonized by C. jejuni and may carry genotypes relevant to infections in livestock and humans. Hygienic measures are needed to limit the spread of infection in reared flocks. Especially farmers and hunters having direct contact with pheasant offal need to be aware of the associated zoonosis risk to protect themselves and their working dogs alike. Biosecurity measures to improve the safety and reduce the zoonosis risk associated with pheasant farming should be further investigated.
空肠弯曲菌属，尤其是空肠弯曲菌，是全球最常见的人类动物源致病菌。在北欧国家，鸡是人类感染的重要传染源，其肉鸡中空肠弯曲菌的流行率通常较低。因此，除了鸡肉之外，还需要考虑其他来源的食源性感染。众所周知，食用鸟类携带多种动物源病原体，包括空肠弯曲菌。本研究旨在调查两个连续采样期在狩猎场饲养的雉鸡群中空肠弯曲菌属的携带情况，以更好地了解雉鸡中空肠弯曲菌感染的动态。总体而言，72%的肠道样本通过直接在 mCCDA 上培养呈空肠弯曲菌属阳性。仅鉴定出空肠弯曲菌一种。使用全基因组测序（WGS）、多位点序列分型（MLST）和特定全基因组 MLST（wgMLST）对分离株进行基因分型。在所研究的 18 个分离株中鉴定出两种不同的空肠弯曲菌克隆，代表 MLST 序列型（ST）ST-45 和 ST-699。ST-45 分离株与使用核心基因组 MLST（cgMLST）的先前人类临床分离株密切相关。相比之下，在后者采样中形成主要克隆的 ST-699 分离株与以前描述的来自不同宿主和来源的全球 cgMLST 图谱截然不同。总之，饲养雉鸡的肠道常被空肠弯曲菌定植，可能携带与家畜和人类感染相关的基因型。需要采取卫生措施来限制饲养鸡群中的感染传播。特别是与雉鸡内脏有直接接触的农民和猎人需要意识到相关的人畜共患病风险，以保护自己和他们的工作犬。应进一步研究改善安全并降低与雉鸡养殖相关的人畜共患病风险的生物安全措施。
