Abstract:
Infections caused by Campylobacter species pose a severe threat to public health worldwide. However, in
Grenada, the occurrence and characteristics of Campylobacter in food animals, including pigs, remain mostly
unknown. In this study, we identified the sequence types (STs) of Campylobacter from young healthy pigs in
Grenada and compared the results with previous studies in Grenada and other countries. Antimicrobial resistance
patterns and diversity of the Campylobacter clones were evaluated. Ninety-nine Campylobacter isolates
(97 Campylobacter coli and 2 Campylobacter jejuni) were analyzed by multilocus sequence typing. Eighteen
previously reported STs and 13 novel STs were identified. Of the 18 previously reported STs, eight STs (ST-
854, -887, -1068, -1096, -1445, -1446, 1556, and -1579) have been associated with human gastroenteritis
in different geographical regions. Among these 18 previously reported STs, ST-1428, -1096, -1450, and -1058
predominated and accounted for 18.2%, 14.1%, 11.1%, and 8.1% of all isolates, respectively. Of the 13 novel
STs, ST-7675 predominated and accounted for 20% (4 of 20 isolates), followed by ST-7678, -7682, and -7691,
each accounting for 10% (2 of 20 isolates). Antimicrobial resistance testing using Epsilometer test revealed a
low resistance rate (1–3%) of all C. coli/jejuni STs to all antimicrobials except for tetracycline (1–10.1%).
Some of the C. coli STs (13 STs, 24/99 isolates, 24.2%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobials. This is the
first report on antimicrobial resistance and multidrug resistance patterns associated with Campylobacter STs
recovered from swine in Grenada. This study showed that pigs in Grenada are not major reservoirs for STs of C.
coli and C. jejuni that are associated with human gastroenteritis worldwide.
