Campylobacter in sheep, calves and broiler chickens in the central region of Algeria: Phenotypic and antimicrobial resistance profiles

The study was conducted in four slaughterhouses in Bouira Province, central region of Algeria. Campylobacter in the main food animals (sheep, calves and broilers) were studied to evaluate the prevalence, phenotypic characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility of isolated strains. Out of 200 sheep, 200 calves and 100 broilers swab samples collected. 150 strains were isolated and identified. A study of sensitivity to 14 antibiotics by the disc diffusion method was performed. This finding shows that, Campylobacter species are very common in avian samples isolates of (96%) but less frequent in sheep and calves (13 and 14% respectively). On the entire isolated strains, Campylobacter jejuni was the most common with an isolation rate of 58% followed by C. coli and C. lari. The majority of isolated Campylobacter strains showed as multidrug resistant. High rates of resistance to different antibiotics tested were observed in broilers, mainly to Nalidixic acid (96.8%), Ciprofloxacin (91.6%) and Erythromycin (88.54%); the lowest level of resistance was found to the Tetracycline (44.7%). The high frequency of digestive portage noted in food animals and the high rate of antibiotic resistance constitutes a real threat to public health in study area. In conclusion, significant Campylobacter isolation rate and multiple drug resistance should be at acceptable level so as to increase productivity livestock rearing off the study sites.   Key words: Campylobacter, sheep, calves, broiler, frequency, antibiotic resistance, Algeria.