Emergence of Fluoroquinolone-Resistant <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> and <i>Campylobacter coli</i> among Australian Chickens in the Absence of Fluoroquinolone Use
Sam Abraham, Shafi Sahibzada, Kylie Hewson, Tanya Laird, Rebecca Abraham, Anthony Pavic, Alec Truswell, Terence Lee, Mark O’Dea, David Jordan
Abstract
Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in humans, with infections frequently resulting from exposure to undercooked poultry products. Although human illness is typically self-limiting, a minority of cases do require antimicrobial therapy. Ensuring that Campylobacter originating from meat chickens does not acquire resistance to fluoroquinolones is therefore a valuable outcome for public health. Australia has never legalized the use of fluoroquinolones in commercial chickens and until now fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter has not been detected in the Australian poultry. This structured survey of meat chickens derived from all major Australian producers describes the unexpected emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli . Genetic characterization suggests that these isolates may have evolved outside the Australian poultry sector and were introduced into poultry by humans, pest species, or wild birds. The findings dramatically underline the critical role of biosecurity in the overall fight against antimicrobial resistance.