Prevalence, virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance of Arcobacter isolates from animal meat in Iran

Arcobacter spp. are food-borne and zoonotic entero-pathogens. Obtaining information in relation to antimicrobial resistance helps us for utilisation of an appropriate agent for the treatment of Arcobac-ter infections. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors in animal raw meat in Iran. The samples were collected from cattle (n=80), sheep (n=80), goats (n=80), camels (n=80), and buffaloes (n=60) from Khuzestan (n=110), Isfahan (n=80), Gilan (n=110) and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari (n=80) provinces. Arcobacter isolates of meat samples were isolated, investigated by PCR method. The antibiotic resistance was also investigated. All isolates were screened for 6 virulence genes: cadF, ciaB, cj1349, Mvin, pldA and tlyA by PCR assays. The results showed that the prevalence of Arcobacter species had no significant difference among prov-inces and animals (P>0.05), so that positive samples were 1.25%, 1.25%, and 0.9% in Isfafhan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and Gilan, respectively. Virulence genes were observed for A. butzleri species (n=3, 100%). The results showed that Arcobacter spp. were resistant to streptomycin (100%), tetracycline (100%) and vancomycin (100%), but were susceptible to azithromycin (33.33%). In sum, the different regions of the Iran had a relative incidence of 1% for Arcobacter spp. The species showed a resistance of 100% for streptomycin, tetracycline and vancomycin. These findings could help to identify Arcobacter spp. and select the best agent against infection in case of Arcobacter infection in animals.