Factors determining capital structure of Pakistani non-financial firms.

This study is undertaken to discover the factors determining the capital structure decision of non-financial Pakistani firms. The capital structure irrelevance theory, trade off theory and pecking order theory stipulates different factors affecting a firm’s optimal debt/equity choice. However, the literature is still inconclusive about which factors and theories best defines the ideal capital structure mix. Thus, making it an unanswered, open empirical question, that, needs to be explored especially for sectors not previously studied. The effect of firm’s profitability, liquidity, size, tangibility and non-debt tax shield on capital structure decision of ten non-financial firms operating at Pakistan Stock Exchange is investigated for a period of ten years i-e from 2005-2014. By using fixed effects panel estimation method it is found that leverage ratio is inversely affected by profitability and current ratio of a firm. While, firm size, tangibility and non-debt tax shield positively effects leverage ratio. The influence of profitability is weakly significant whereas that of liquidity, size, tangibility and non-debt tax shield are strongly significant. The study also shows that results for profitability and liquidity are in accordance with the Pecking Order Theory and the result for size; tangibility and non-debt tax shield are in line with the Trade-Off Theory

Prevalence, distribution and antibiotic resistance of emergent Arcobacter spp. from clinically healthy cattle and goats

Prevalence, distribution and antibiotic resistance of Arcobacter spp. were investigated in cattle, goats, floor and treated water samples in this study. The prevalence of Arcobacter in adult and young was recorded as 8/110 (7.27%) and 4/83 (4.81%), respectively, which showed insignificant difference (P = 0.3503) in detection rates between adult and young cattle. A total of 33.33% of the floor samples and 11.11% of the treated water samples analysed were determined as positive for Arcobacter. Among the species isolated, over all, A. butzleri (45%) was the most frequently detected species, followed by A. skirrowii (5%). A. butzleri was isolated from adult cattle, floor and water samples at the rates of 75.0%, 33.4% and 50%, respectively. Co-colonization of species was not uncommon, and 50% of the samples were carrying more than one Arcobacter species. Only 12.5% sample from cattle (adult) was detected positive for only A. skirrowii. All samples from young animals, floor and water contained mixed isolates. None of the samples from goat farm was found to be carrying Arcobacter species. On profiling of antimicrobial resistance patterns, it was found that only one A. butzleri isolate (3.7%) was sensitive to all nine antibiotics tested. A. butzleri was found highly resistant to ampicillin (55.6%), followed by cefotaxime (33.4%) and ciprofloxacin (33.4%). Overall, 20% of the isolates showed multidrug resistance (resistant ≥4 antibiotics). Gentamicin and enrofloxacin can be used as drugs of choice for the treatment for Arcobacter infection

Arcobacter - an emerging threat to animals and animal origin food products?

Genus Arcobacter is consisted of twelve species, which have been isolated from a wide range of animals and animal origin food products such as beef, milk, rabbit meat, pork and chicken, thus raising public health concern. Recent reports showed that infection in human can occur by close contact with pets (dogs and cats). Dose response, pathogenicity and toxin production in the development of disease are not fully understood. As cultural detection is time consuming and not confirmatory, various DNA based protocols have been developed for rapid and accurate identification of Arcobacter species. This review reports on the occurrence of Arcobacter in animals other than chickens and in food of animal origin other than chicken meat

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Global, regional, and national sex differences in the global burden of tuberculosis by HIV status, 1990–2019: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Tuberculosis is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, causing more than a million deaths annually. Given an emphasis on equity in access to diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in global health targets, evaluations of differences in tuberculosis burden by sex are crucial. We aimed to assess the levels and trends of the global burden of tuberculosis, with an emphasis on investigating differences in sex by HIV status for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Methods We used a Bayesian hierarchical Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) platform to analyse 21 505 site-years of vital registration data, 705 site-years of verbal autopsy data, 825 site-years of sample-based vital registration data, and 680 site-years of mortality surveillance data to estimate mortality due to tuberculosis among HIV-negative individuals. We used a population attributable fraction approach to estimate mortality related to HIV and tuberculosis coinfection. A compartmental meta-regression tool (DisMod-MR 2.1) was then used to synthesise all available data sources, including prevalence surveys, annual case notifications, population-based tuberculin surveys, and tuberculosis cause-specific mortality, to produce estimates of incidence, prevalence, and mortality that were internally consistent. We further estimated the fraction of tuberculosis mortality that is attributable to independent effects of risk factors, including smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes, for HIV-negative individuals. For individuals with HIV and tuberculosis coinfection, we assessed mortality attributable to HIV risk factors including unsafe sex, intimate partner violence (only estimated among females), and injection drug use. We present 95% uncertainty intervals for all estimates. Findings Globally, in 2019, among HIV-negative individuals, there were 1.18 million (95% uncertainty interval 1.08-1.29) deaths due to tuberculosis and 8.50 million (7.45-9.73) incident cases of tuberculosis. Among HIV-positive individuals, there were 217 000 (153 000-279 000) deaths due to tuberculosis and 1.15 million (1.01-1.32) incident cases in 2019. More deaths and incident cases occurred in males than in females among HIV-negative individuals globally in 2019, with 342 000 (234 000-425 000) more deaths and 1.01 million (0.82-1.23) more incident cases in males than in females. Among HIV-positive individuals, 6250 (1820-11 400) more deaths and 81 100 (63 300-100 000) more incident cases occurred among females than among males in 2019. Age-standardised mortality rates among HIV-negative males were more than two times greater in 105 countries and age-standardised incidence rates were more than 1.5 times greater in 74 countries than among HIV-negative females in 2019. The fraction of global tuberculosis deaths among HIV-negative individuals attributable to alcohol use, smoking, and diabetes was 4.27 (3.69-5.02), 6.17 (5.48-7.02), and 1.17 (1.07-1.28) times higher, respectively, among males than among females in 2019. Among individuals with HIV and tuberculosis coinfection, the fraction of mortality attributable to injection drug use was 2.23 (2.03-2.44) times greater among males than females, whereas the fraction due to unsafe sex was 1.06 (1.05-1.08) times greater among females than males. Interpretation As countries refine national tuberculosis programmes and strategies to end the tuberculosis epidemic, the excess burden experienced by males is important. Interventions are needed to actively communicate, especially to men, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. These interventions should occur in parallel with efforts to minimise excess HIV burden among women in the highest HIV burden countries that are contributing to excess HIV and tuberculosis coinfection burden for females. Placing a focus on tuberculosis burden among HIV-negative males and HIV and tuberculosis coinfection among females might help to diminish the overall burden of tuberculosis. This strategy will be crucial in reaching both equity and burden targets outlined by global health milestone

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Occurrence, antibiotic resistance and genetic deiversity of arcobacter isolates from cattle and goats

Arcobacter is considered as one of the emerging food and water borne zoonotic pathogens. It has been isolated from various species of animals, animal origin food products, vegetables, and water. Most of the studies on detection and characterization of Arcobacter have been carried out in developed countries whereas such data is lacking in developing countries like Malaysia. With this scenario in view, this study was carried out to isolate Arcobacter spp. from cattle, goats, milk, beef and water, to determine its antimicrobial resistance patterns and to evaluate the genetic diversity of the isolates. A total of six dairy cattle farms in Rawang (A), UPM (B), Serdang (C), Kuala Kubu Baru (D), and Sepang (E) in Selangor and in Tampin (F) in Negeri Sembilan were visited for collection of cattle rectal swabs (adults, n=120; young=120), water (n=18) and environmental surfaces (n=30) samples. The occurrence of Arcobacter in adult cattle on farm A, B, C, D, E and F was recorded as 10% (2/20), 5% (1/20), 0% (0/20),0% (0/20), 10% (2/20) and 15% (3/20), respectively whereas for young cattle the occurrences were, 5% (1/20), 0% (0/20), 10% (2/20), 10% (2/20), 0% (0/20) and 5% (1/20), respectively. The overall prevalence of Arcobacter in adult cattle was 6.7% (8/120) and in the young was 5% (6/120) which was non-significant (p=0.584). Arcobacter was not detected in floor samples collected from farm A, however 40% of samples from farm B, C, D and F each, and 20% from farm E were detected positive. Arcobacter was not detected from treated water from all farms except farm F (66.7%). In total, 8 of 30 (26.66%) floor samples and 2 of 18 (11.11%) treated water samples examined were positive for Arcobacter. Overall, Arcobacter butzleri was the most frequently isolated species 9/24 (37.5%) followed by Arcobacter skirrowii 1/24 (4.1%). A total of 140 samples including goat rectal swabs (n=100), water (n=15) and floor swabs (n=25) were collected from five goat farms in Rawang, Sepang, Kuala Kubu Baru, Cyberjaya in Selangor and Nilai in Negeri Sembilan and found negative for Arcobacter spp. A total of 148 beef samples, local (n=85) and imported (n=63) and 180 milk samples,cattle (n=86) and goats (n= 94) were collected. Overall, 26.35% (39/148) beef samples were found positive for Arcobacter. Imported beef was more contaminated (39.68%) than local (16.47%) beef. Arcobacter butzleri was the most frequent species isolated from imported (52%) and local (35.71%) beef. Arcobacter was also detected from cattle milk (5.43%) with A. butzleri as the dominant species (60%) followed by A. cryaerophilus (40%). None of the goat milk samples was found positive for Arcobacter. Using minimum Inhibitory Concentration Evaluator (M.I.C.E) and disc diffusion methods, the A. butzleri isolates from cattle (n=5), beef (n=15), milk (n=3), water (1) and floor (n=2) were tested against six antibiotics namely ampicillin, ciprofloxacin,erythromycin, tetracycline, cefotaxime and gentamicin. None of the A. butzleri isolates was found resistant to all six antibiotics tested. A wide range of A. butzleri isolates were found resistant to antibiotics using both techniques: 74.07-81.48% for ampicillin, 22.22-25.92% for ciprofloxacin, 37.03-70.37% for erythromycin, 7.4-11.11% for tetracycline, 55.55-70.37% for cefotaxime and 18.51-22.22% for gentamicin,Using minimum Inhibitory Concentration Evaluator (M.I.C.E) and disc diffusion methods, the A. butzleri isolates from cattle (n=5), beef (n=15), milk (n=3), water (1) and floor (n=2) were tested against six antibiotics namely ampicillin, ciprofloxacin,erythromycin, tetracycline, cefotaxime and gentamicin. None of the A. butzleri isolates was found resistant to all six antibiotics tested. A wide range of A. butzleri isolates were found resistant to antibiotics using both techniques: 74.07-81.48% for ampicillin, 22.22-25.92% for ciprofloxacin, 37.03-70.37% for erythromycin, 7.4-11.11% for tetracycline, 55.55-70.37% for cefotaxime and 18.51-22.22% for gentamicin, respectively. Of the resistant isolates, 3.70% and 11.11% isolates were found MDR using M.I.C.E and disc diffusion methods, respectively. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), MIC50/MIC90 values were obtained for tetracycline (0.03/4 μg/mL) however highest for ampicillin (32/128 μg/mL). The results of the comparison of two agar diffusion based antimicrobial susceptibility methods, M.I.C.E and disc diffusion, revealed high relationship (R ≥0.9) for five of six antibiotics tested whereas the relationship of two methods was moderate (R=0.463) for erythromycin. Arcobacter butzleri isolates from cattle (n=5), beef (n=15), milk (n=3), water (1) and floor (n=2) were characterized by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using EagI restriction endonuclease and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and high genetic diversity was observed. PFGE analysis of isolates from various sources revealed six major clusters with 16 genotypes having 50-71% similarity. Similarly high genetic diversity was seen when multilocus sequence typing was performed for two representatives of each source (cattle, beef and milk) and the results revealed that 16 of 42 (38.09%) alleles were novel alleles, which brought six new sequence types espectively. Of the resistant isolates, 3.70% and 11.11% isolates were found MDR using M.I.C.E and disc diffusion methods, respectively. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), MIC50/MIC90 values were obtained for tetracycline (0.03/4 μg/mL) however highest for ampicillin (32/128 μg/mL). The results of the comparison of two agar diffusion based antimicrobial susceptibility methods, M.I.C.E and disc diffusion, revealed high relationship (R ≥0.9) for five of six antibiotics tested whereas the relationship of two methods was moderate (R=0.463) for erythromycin. Arcobacter butzleri isolates from cattle (n=5), beef (n=15), milk (n=3), water (1) and floor (n=2) were characterized by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using EagI restriction endonuclease and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and high genetic diversity was observed. PFGE analysis of isolates from various sources revealed six major clusters with 16 genotypes having 50-71% similarity. Similarly high genetic diversity was seen when multilocus sequence typing was performed for two representatives of each source (cattle, beef and milk) and the results revealed that 16 of 42 (38.09%) alleles were novel alleles, which brought six new sequence types (STs). The overall dn/ds ratio was less than one (<1). When these new STs were compared with available electronic database, it showed that ST-366 (beef) was closely related (71.42%) with ST-116 which was isolated from pork in Thailand. It is concluded that the occurrence of Arcobacter spp. in animals and animal origin food products such as beef and milk, and treated water is of public health significance. Good management and hygienic practices are key factors to control the occurrence of Arcobacter at farm and market levels, respectively. In addition, antimicrobial resistance in Arcobacter spp. against commonly used antibiotics in human and veterinary therapy may increase risk of treatment failure. Tetracycline may be used as a drug of choice against Arcobacter infection. High genetic diversity in A. butzleri genome suggested that the animals and their by products were colonized by multiple Arcobacter parent genotype