Antimicrobial Susceptibility of <em>Campylobacter</em> Strains Isolated from Chicken Carcasses in Senegal

Campylobacter resistance to antimicrobial agents appears as an emerging public health problem in industrialized countries, but, on the other hand, only few data on the subject are available in developing countries. To assess antibiotic susceptibility of Campylobacter strains in Senegal, skin samples were collected from 250 chicken carcasses from January 2001 to October 2002. Among 204 Campylobacter strains isolated, two species were identified: C. jejuni (59%) and C. coli (41%). In vitro susceptibility to five antimicrobial drugs (amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, erythromycin, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin) was determined by the E-test method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) showed 34% of Campylobacter isolates were ciprofloxacin resistant with a high level of resistance (MIC ≥ 32 mg/l) in 25% of both species. Cross-resistance between nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin was found in 96% of quinolone-resistant strains. The level of amoxicillin resistance was statistically higher for C. coli than for C. jejuni (20.2 versus 10.8%), but all the strains were susceptible to amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid. Both species showed low resistance to erythromycin. Multiresistant phenotype to three of the drugs tested was found in 9.8% of the strains: 15.5% of C. coli strains and 5.8% of C. jejuni strains. No strain was resistant to four or more of the drugs studied. Further studies appear necessary to evaluate antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter isolated in human and animal samples in order to control the emergence of new multidrug-resistant strains in Senegal