Virulence, antimicrobial resistance, and dissemination of Campylobacter coli isolated from chicken carcasses in Brazil

Campylobacter coli is the second most incriminated species of Campylobacter in cases of human campylobacteriosis, often isolated from chicken meat. Brazil is the largest exporter of chicken meat in the world, which makes the characterization of Brazilian isolates crucial for the establishment of control measures. Eighty-three C. coli strains isolated from chicken carcasses in three states in Brazil were tested by conventional PCR for 14 virulence genes classified into five categories: biofilm formation (flA, luxS), secretion system (ctdABC, hcp), invasion and colonization (cadF, ciaB, pldA), stress adaptation (cbrA, htrA, dnaJ), and Guillain-Barré syndrome (neuA, cstII). A broth microdilution test was performed to test sensitivity to ciprofloxacin and erythromycin. The proteomic similarity between the isolates was established through a dendrogram using data obtained from MALDI-TOF. The gene profile showed high potential for invasion and colonization. The strains showed 89.2% resistance to ciprofloxacin and 55.4% to erythromycin. Brazilian state I showed widespread genetic diversity, states II and III showed local specificity. Our results suggest high virulence and resistance, evidence of cross contamination and maintenance of virulent genotypes, emphasizing the need for control measures in Brazilian slaughterhouses.