Investigation of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of Campylobacter isolates from patients in a tertiary hospital in Edirne, Turkey.

Purpose Campylobacter is one of the most common pathogens that cause food-borne infections worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance rates and the presence of multiple virulence genes in Campylobacter isolates obtained from humans. Materials and Methods In this study, 71 Campylobacter isolates obtained from human faecal samples were used. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed through the gradient strip method. The presence of virulence genes was investigated by monoplex and multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Results The rate of resistance of the 66 Campylobacter jejuni isolates was 12.1% for erythromycin, 40.9% for tetracycline and 68.2% for ciprofloxacin. Only one of five Campylobacter coli isolates was resistant to these three antimicrobial agents. The flaB, pldA, cdtA, cadF, cdtC and ceuE genes were found in all 66 of the C. jejuni isolates. In the C. jejuni isolates, positivity rates of 92.4% for flaA, 96.7% for cdtB, 98.5% for ciaB, 90.9% for dnaJ and 96.7% for racR were observed. The flaA, flaB, ciaB, cdtA and cdtC genes were present in all C. coli isolates. Conclusions It was detected that there is an increase in antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter strains in our region, and most of the isolates harbour virulence genes.