Prevalence and risk factors associated with Campylobacter spp. occurrence in healthy dogs visiting four rural community veterinary clinics in South Africa
2019
Karama, Musafiri(University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science Department of Paraclinical Sciences) | Cenci-Goga, Beniamino T.(University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science Department of Paraclinical Sciences,University of Perugia Laboratorio di Ispezione degli alimenti di origine animale Department of Veterinary Medicine) | Prosperi, Alice(Experimental Zooprofilattico Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna 'Bruno Ubertini ,University of Bologna Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences) | Etter, Eric(University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science Department of Production Animal Studies,University of Montpellier) | El-Ashram, Saeed(Foshan University College of Life Science and Engineering ,Kafr ElSheikh University Faculty of Science) | McCrindle, Cheryl(University of South Africa Department of Agriculture and Animal Health) | Ombui, Jackson N.(University of Nairobi College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology) | Kalake, Alan(Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,)
Reports on the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in dogs in South Africa are non-existent. This study investigated the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in 481 dogs visiting four rural community veterinary clinics in South Africa. Dogs were screened for Campylobacter spp. by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between sex, clinic, breed and age and the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in dogs. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was 41.50% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.39% - 46.04%). Campylobacter jejuni, C. upsaliensis and C. coli were detected in 29.31% (95% CI, 25.42% - 33.54%), 13.10% (95% CI, 10.37% - 16.42%) and 5.41% (95% CI, 3.71% - 7.82%) of dogs, respectively. Dogs carrying more than one species of Campylobacter spp. accounted for 6.23% (95% CI, 4.40% - 8.78%). Campylobacter upsaliensis and C. jejuni were detected in 3.74% (95% CI, 2.37% - 5.86%), whereas C. coli and C. jejuni were found in 2.49% (95% CI, 1.42% - 4.34%) of dogs. Age and clinic were the risk factors significantly associated with Campylobacter spp. occurrence, while age, breed and clinic were predictors of C. jejuni carriage. Furthermore, age was the only risk factor associated with a higher likelihood of carrying C. upsaliensis. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. C. jejuni and C. upsaliensis increased significantly as dogs grew older. In addition, the odds of carrying Campylobacter spp. were higher in the Staffordshire bull terrier breed compared to crossbreed dogs. In conclusion, this study shows that dogs visiting rural community veterinary clinics in South Africa are reservoirs of Campylobacter spp. and may be potential sources of Campylobacter spp. for humans living in close proximity of the dog populations under study.
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