Campylobacter spp. and bacteriophages from broiler chickens: Characterization of antibiotic susceptibility profiles and lytic bacteriophages

Bacteria of the genus Campylobacter are the most common pathogens causing zoonotic diseases in humans. Therefore, the aim of the study was to isolate Campylobacter bacteria from broiler chickens and evaluate their susceptibility to selected antibiotics by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC), followed by isolation and characterization of bacteriophages specific for Campylobacter spp. The material for the study consisted of field isolates of Campylobacter spp. obtained from the gut (cecum) of broiler chickens directly after slaughter in slaughterhouses, and bacteriophages specific for these strains. We isolated 48 strains from poultry (140 broiler chickens): 31 strains of Campylobacter jejuni and 17 of Campylobacter coli. Identification of the strains was confirmed by multiplex PCR and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Over 83% of Campylobacter strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin, and over half the isolates were resistant to erythromycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline. Resistance to three or more antibiotics was observed in 91.6% of all strains. Four bacteriophages were obtained, and on the basis of their morphological structure, they were assigned to two families of the order Caudovirales: Myoviridae and Siphoviridae. A high percentage of the Campylobacter strains were resistant to at least three of the antibiotic groups tested. All of the phages exhibited lytic activity against the Campylobacter spp. isolates, but the antibacterial effect of the phages was not observed for all strains.