Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Thermophilic Campylobacter Isolated from Sheep at Debre Birhan, North-Shoa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Prevalence and susceptibility testing of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in fecal and carcass swab samples were undertaken at Debre Birhan, North-Shoa, Ethiopia during a 9 mth period from August 2011 to April 2012. Out of 310 fecal samples, 33 (10.6%) thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were isolated on blood-free modifi ed charcoal, cefoperazone, desoxycholate agar plates in a micro aerobic atmosphere. From the 33 Campylobacter isolates, 87.9% were C. jejuni and 12.1% were C. coli. The prevalence of Campylobacter was high (78.8%) from August to December on all farms, whereas low prevalence (21.2%) was observed from January to April. The isolation rate of Campylobacter spp. in the Awassi exotic and cross breeds (60.6%) was higher than for indigenous breeds (33.4%). No Campylobacter spp. were found in the Adale indigenous breeds. Fifty (21.4%) Campylobacter isolates were found from 70 carcass swab samples. Among the thermophilic Campylobacter isolates from the carcass samples, C. jejuni and C. coli accounted for 93.3 and 6.7%, respectively. A statistically signifi cant (P ≤ 0.05) difference was observed between the two Campylobacter species identifi ed. All Campylobacter isolates were tested with the most commonly used antimicrobial agents in Ethiopia by the agar disc diffusion method. The resistance rates to ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin and nalidixic acid were 33.3, 20.8, 4.2 and 2.1%, respectively. All isolates were resistant to cephalothin. In conclusion, the sources of Campylobacter and their sensitivity testing in sheep feces and carcasses are useful for herd health management and sheep husbandry and in antimicrobial surveillance for public health.