AUTHOR=Du Juan , Luo Jing , Huang Jingjing , Wang Chengmin , Li Meng , Wang Bojun , Wang Bo , Chang Han , Ji Jianwei , Sen Keya , He Hongxuan 

TITLE=Emergence of Genetic Diversity and Multi-Drug Resistant Campylobacter jejuni From Wild Birds in Beijing, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02433

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.02433

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic> (<italic>C. jejuni</italic>) is considered as an opportunistic zoonotic pathogen that may cause gastroenteritis in humans and other animals. Wild birds may be as potential vectors of <italic>C. jejuni</italic> around urban and suburban areas. Here, 520 samples were collected from 33 wild bird species in urban and suburban areas, Beijing. In total 57 <italic>C. jejuni</italic> were isolated from seven species. It was found that Nineteen (33.33%, 19/57) isolates were resistant to at least one of 11 antibiotics, especially streptomycin (36.84%) and four isolates resistant to all. Nineteen (33.33%, 19/57) isolates were multi-drug resistance. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of the isolates showed that 36 different sequence types (STs) belonged to four Clonal complexes and unassigned. Twenty STs (55.56%) and six alleles among them were first detected. Virulence genes including <italic>flaA</italic>, <italic>cadF</italic>, and the cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) gene cluster, were detected in all isolates, but truncated <italic>cdt</italic> gene clusters only detected in the isolates from the crow, daurian jackdaw and silver pheasant. In conclusion, it was the first detection of <italic>C. jejuni</italic> involved truncated <italic>cdt</italic> gene clusters from the silver pheasant. These wild birds around urban and suburban areas may pose potential public health problems as reservoir vectors of <italic>C. jejuni</italic>.</p>