Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Campylobacter coli isolated from broilers and layers cloacal swabs in Mwanza and Arusha, Tanzania

Campylobacteriosis is an emerging zoonotic enteric disease that poses a threat to both human health and animal productivity. Poultry is known as the primary reservoir of Campylobacter, and 90% of human Campylobacteriosis is caused by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. This is complicated by the worldwide emergence of Campylobacter strains that are resistant to commonly used antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we determined the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Campylobacter coli isolated from cloacal swabs collected from broilers and layers in Mwanza and Arusha, Tanzania. We collected 402 cloacal swabs from broilers and layers. Then, samples were enriched into Bolton Broth supplemented with 5% laked horse blood. Campylobacter was isolated and confirmed by PCR. Antibiogram was done by disk diffusion method using six antibiotics i.e., ampicillin, nalidixic acid, gentamycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. Of the 402 samples, 31 (7.71%) were confirmed to be Campylobacter coli by PCR. In Mwanza, the overall prevalence was 6.5% (6% and 7% in broilers and layers, respectively), while in Arusha, the overall prevalence was 8.9% (10.8% and 7% in broilers and layers, respectively). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that 80.6%, 16.1%, 9.7%, 9.7%, 6.5%, and 3.2% were resistant to ampicillin, nalidixic acid, erythromycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and gentamycin, respectively. The rate of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to at least one antimicrobial was 100%. Eight out of thirty-one (12.9%) isolates were multi-drug-resistant to four different antimicrobial compounds, each with different patterns. Wise use of existing antimicrobials is necessary to curb the increasing trend of AMR strains.