Antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from chickens in a diagnostic laboratory

The aim of this study was to determine the resistance profile of 24 Campylobacter jejuni and 16 Campylobacter coli isolates from chickens in a diagnostic laboratory in Nigeria. Susceptibility testing was done by a broth microdilution MIC method with MICRONAUT – S anaerob test plates (Merlin Diagnostika, GmbH, Germany). MIC assay was performed according to CLSI (formally NCCLS) methods. Resistance to ciprofloxacin (57.5%) was the highest, followed by nalidixic acid (47%), tetracycline (35%) and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (22%). Campylobacter jejuni were more resistant than Campylobacter coli to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole while Campylobacter coli were more resistant than Campylobacter jejuni to erythromycin and streptomycin. 47.5% of the isolates were multi - drug resistant with nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin as the most frequently occurring antimicrobial agent in the pattern. This work has shown that majority of the Campylobacter isolates were resistant to most of the antimicrobial agents used with multi - drug resistance, thus the need for surveillance and rational use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production.   Key words: Antimicrobial resistance, campylobacter, chickens, diagnostic laboratory, MIC, multi-drug resistance.