Campylobacter jejuni isolated from human cases in Chile showed indistinguishable pulsed field gel electrophoresis profiles with strains isolated from poultry and bovine sources

Campylobacteriosis is a common zoonotic disease whose main reservoir is the intestinal microbiota of poultry and other production animals. Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from human infections in Chile were compared through pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with isolates from chicken and cattle to determine the potential significance of bovine and chicken as infectious sources. During a 5-year period, 154 C. jejuni isolates from these sources were collected and analyzed. Ninety-three SmaI PFGE profiles were generated. Among the indistinguishable profiles, two profiles were shared by chicken, bovine and human isolates, eight profiles were shared by chicken and human isolates, and only one profile was shared by human and bovine isolates. The results obtained suggest a link between sporadic human campylobacteriosis and C. jejuni from chicken and bovine origin. Results also confirm chicken could be an important food source of C. jejuni contamination in Chile, as is described in other countries. Para determinar la relacion potencial de bovinos y pollos como fuentes de infeccion de Campylobacter jejuni en humanos, se compararon perfiles de electroforesis en gel campo pulsado (PFGE) de aislados de C. jejuni de diverso origen. Durante un periodo de 5 anos, 154 aislados de C. jejuni fueron colectados y evaluados. Usando la enzima SmaI se obtuvo 93 perfiles PFGE. Entre los perfiles indistinguibles generados, 2 perfiles fueron comunes entre los cepas de C. jejuni de humanos, bovinos y de pollo; 8, fueron comunes entre pollos y humanos y 1 fue comun entre los aislados humanos y bovinos. Los resultados sugieren que existe una relacion entre cepas de C. jejuni provenientes de pollos y bovinos con casos esporadicos de campilobacteriosis en humanos. Esta informacion sugiere que los pollos pueden ser una importante fuente de infeccion por C. jejuni en Chile, tal como se describe en otros paises.