Archives

Page No. : 93-98

ABSTRACT

Campylobater spp. are among the leading causes of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR is a simple PCR based method used for the genotyping of Campylobacter spp. In the present study 55 Campylobacter isolates from various sources (Chicken meat, skin, feather, intestine, caecum and quail caecum) and origin (Bareilly and Pantnagar) including 32 Campylobacter jejuni and 23 C. coli were genotyped by ERIC-PCR. The dendrogram analysis classified the isolates under study into 7 distinct types/ clades with a discriminatory power (D value) of 0.83 and 0.82, respectively. With a maximum heterogeneity of 65%. Significant genetic similarity was observed between human and poultry (chicken, quail and poultry skin) isolates. This seems to be the first study from India on the application of ERIC-PCR for genotyping and detection of genetic diversity of Campylobacter spp. from different sources and origin. The common genotypes shared by poultry and human isolates reinforces the fact that poultry meat acts as the main source for human infection and hence effective control measures should be taken to control human infection during poultry meat processing.

Key words: Campylobacter spp., dendrogram, D value, ERIC-PCR, heterogeneity