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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2009, p. 3007-3015, Vol. 75, No. 10
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02458-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Epidemiology and Characterization of Campylobacter spp. Isolated from Wild Bird Populations in Northern England{triangledown}

Laura A. Hughes,1* Malcolm Bennett,1 Peter Coffey,3 John Elliott,3 Trevor R. Jones,1 Richard C. Jones,2 Angela Lahuerta-Marin,1 A. Howard Leatherbarrow,2 Kenny McNiffe,3 David Norman,3 Nicola J. Williams,1 and Julian Chantrey2

National Centre for Zoonosis Research, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE, United Kingdom,1 Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE, United Kingdom,2 Merseyside Ringing Group, Rowswood Cottage, Ridding Lane, Sutton Weaver, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 6PF, United Kingdom3

Received 27 October 2008/ Accepted 6 March 2009

Campylobacter infections have been reported at prevalences ranging from 2 to 50% in a range of wild bird species, although there have been few studies that have investigated the molecular epidemiology of Campylobacter spp. Consequently, whether wild birds are a source of infection in humans or domestic livestock or are mainly recipients of domestic animal strains and whether separate cycles of infection occur remain unknown. To address these questions, serial cross-sectional surveys of wild bird populations in northern England were carried out over a 2-year period. Fecal samples were collected from 2,084 wild bird individuals and screened for the presence of Campylobacter spp. A total of 56 isolates were recovered from 29 birds sampled at 15 of 167 diverse locales. Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter lari, and Campylobacter coli were detected by PCR, and the prevalences of different Campylobacter spp. in different avian families ranged from 0% to 33%. Characterization of 36 C. jejuni isolates by multilocus sequence typing revealed that wild birds carry both livestock-associated and unique strains of C. jejuni. However, the apparent absence of unique wild bird strains of C. jejuni in livestock suggests that the direction of infection is predominantly from livestock to wild birds. C. lari was detected mainly in wild birds sampled in an estuarine or coastal habitat. Fifteen C. lari isolates were analyzed by macrorestriction pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, which revealed genetically diverse populations of C. lari in Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) and clonal populations in magpies (Pica pica).

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Centre for Zoonosis Research, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0)151 795 6043. Fax: 44 (0)151 795 6066. E-mail: Lhughes{at}liverpool.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 13 March 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2009, p. 3007-3015, Vol. 75, No. 10
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02458-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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