The study shows trends in drug-resistant Campylobacter infections in the United States

The study shows trends in drug-resistant Campylobacter infections in the United States

CampylobacterInfections are the most common food-borne illnesses in the United States, affecting an estimated 1.5 million people each year. A new study examined records fromCampylobacter jejuniInfections from 10 states charting regional, age-related, and drug-resistant trends from 2013 to 2019.

The study found that drug resistantC. JejuniInfections were highest in the 20-39 age group and these were quinolone-resistantC. JejuniInfections increased from 22.6% of people tested in 2013 to 33.54% in 2019. Researchers also identified regional differences inC. JejuniResistance to quinolones and six other classes of antibiotics. The new results can be found in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main source ofCampylobacterHuman infections include consumption of contaminated poultry. Not following proper hygiene and cooking methods is the main cause of the infection. Pigs, cows, sheep and other animals also have harborsCampylobacterin their digestive tracts and can transmit it to humans or other animals.

The mostCampylobacterInfections in humans are mild within a week and kill more than 100 people each yearCampylobacterInfections in the USA

The new study relied on publicly available data collected by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, a U.S. public health agency that tracks bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance in food and other gut bacteria. Narms focuses its efforts on 10 states that reflect regional differences across the U.S.: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Tennessee.

“These sites monitor foodborne pathogens in the local population,” said Csaba Varga, a professor of pathobiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who led the new research. “They track infectionsCampylobacter, E. coliPresentSalmonellaand other foodborne pathogens and a subset of isolates are tested for antimicrobial resistance status. We analyze this monitoring data because we are interested in emerging and long-term trends. “

In addition to finding that people in the age group 20-39 were infected with drug-resistant infectionsC. JejuniAt higher rates than all other age groups, the analysis also found that some states had significantly higher rates of drug resistanceC. Jejuniinfections than others. Of the 10 states studied, Connecticut had the highest drug relapse ratesC. JejuniInfections for all antibiotics except tetracyclines and quinolones. Tennessee and Georgia had higher percentages of drug-resistant infections for three of the seven antibiotics studied. New Mexico had the lowest antibiotic resistance levelsC. Jejuniinfections overall.

These differences cannot be easily explained, Varga said. Different climate conditions, the presence of poultry operations, variations in reporting methods, or other factors may affect drug ratesC. JejuniInfections recorded in national data.

The study found that overall rates of tetracycline resistanceC. JejuniInfections decreased from 49.13% to 41.36% between 2013 and 2019, while quinolone-resistant infections increased. “Quinolones – a class of antibiotics that include drugs such as ciprofloxacin or Cipro and levofloxacin, also known as Levaquin, are sometimes prescribed to treat campylobacteriosis, which could influence the selection of quinolone-resistant strains,” Varga said.

The results are particularly interesting because most human cases ofC. Jejuniare not treated with antibiotics, he said.

If theCampylobacterThe infection in humans is so severe that they must receive medication. The drug of choice is usually azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic. In our study we did not find high levels of resistance to macrolides, which is good news. “

CSABA Varga, Professor of Pathobiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The poultry industry is also reducing its use of antibiotics, Varga said. “We’re seeing resistance to quinolone go upCampylobacterinfections, but quinolones are rarely used in poultry,” he said.

A previous study from Varga's lab, which tested samples from chickens and turkeys from 2013 to 2021, also found high resistance to tetracyclines in chickens and high resistance to tetracyclines and quinolones in turkeys.

This study and the new one suggest the need for further research to understand the trends and development of new approaches to expand the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the food supply and elsewhere, Varga said.

While the NARMS data is critical for understanding trends, it almost certainly undermines the number of foodborne infections, Varga said.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “There is an under-reporting of these cases because not everyone gets to the doctor, depending on their symptoms, and not everyone gets tested.”

Varga is also an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and The U. of I. Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program.

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