Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from raw camel, beef, and water buffalo meat in Iran

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. isolated from retail raw meats in Iran. From August 2009 to August 2010, a total of 379 raw meat samples from camel ( n = 130), beef ( n = 207), and water buffalo ( n = 42) were purchased from randomly selected retail outlets in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari and Khuzestan provinces in Iran. The samples were evaluated for the presence of Campylobacter using traditional bacteriological tests and a nested polymerase chain reaction. Overall, 31 of 379 meat samples (8.2%) were contaminated with Campylobacter . The highest prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was found in water buffalo meat (21.4%), followed by beef (9.2%), and camel (2.3%) meat. The most prevalent Campylobacter species isolated from meat samples was Campylobacter jejuni (77.4%); the remaining isolates were Campylobacter coli (22.6%). Susceptibilities of 31 Campylobacter isolates were determined for ten antimicrobial drugs using the disk diffusion assay. Of 31 Campylobacter isolates, 27 (87.1%) were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agents. Nine strains (29.0%) were resistant to one single antimicrobial agent, and eight strains (25.8%) showed resistance to two antimicrobial agents. Multidrug resistance was found in 32.3% of Campylobacter strains. Resistance to tetracycline was the most common finding (67.7%), followed by resistance to ciprofloxacin (32.7%), and nalidixic acid (32.7%). To the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first report of the isolation of Campylobacter spp. from raw water buffalo meat in Iran.