Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter spp. Causing Human Infection in Australia: An International Comparison

Abstract

The study investigates the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance inCampylobacter jejuniandCampylobacter coliin gastroenteritis patients in the eight most populous regions in Australia and compares the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Europe and North America. A total of 164Campylobacterisolates were collected from patients with campylobacteriosis and tested for susceptibility to six antimicrobials using ETEST(R)strips and compared with reports from Europe and the United States. Genomes were sequenced on Illumina NextSeq to identify genetic determinants of resistance. Phenotypically, 1.8%, 14.0%, 14.6%, and 20.1% of isolates were resistant to erythromycin (ERY), ampicillin, tetracycline (TET), and ciprofloxacin (CIP), respectively. Comparing published phenotypic results of antimicrobial resistance in several European countries and the United States with these Australian isolates reveals that rates observed in Australia are among the lowest observed for ERY, CIP, and TET for bothC. coliandC. jejuni. For each antimicrobial tested, concordance between resistance phenotype and genotype ranged from 66.6% to 100.0%. This study highlights that, among industrialized countries, Portugal and Spain have very high levels of antimicrobial resistance inC. jejuniandC. coli, especially when compared with the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.