Abstract:
BACKGROUND
Campylobacter spp. are among the global causes of food poisoning and harbour
virulence and resistance genes which play a role in invasion and antibiotic resistance. This
study aimed to detect selected resistance and virulence genes in archived Campylobacter
spp. isolated from children in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a retrospective laboratory-based cross-sectional study on archived
samples of Campylobacter spp. at the Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and
Toxicology, University of Nairobi. Campylobacter isolates were cultured on modified
charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) media. The presence of selected
virulence genes and resistance genes was detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction
(mPCR). STATA13 was used in data analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to
ascertain the association between the genes and the Campylobacter spp.
RESULTS
The Campylobacter spp. under this study were Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni)
(50%), Campylobacter coli (C. coli) (38%) and Campylobacter lari (C. lari) (12%). The
virulence genes detected were cgtB 37 (25%), pldA (20%), cdtA (17%), cdtB (16%), cdtC
(6%), wlaN (5%), iam (4%), ciaB (4%) and VirB11 (3%). The virulence gene waaC was
not detected in any of the isolates. The resistance genes detected were TetA (42%), Tet B
(26%), GyrB (18%) and GyrA (14%).
CONCLUSION
The study revealed the presence of various virulence and resistance genes in
Campylobacter spp. isolated from children. This information could help guide the
development and enhancement of guidelines for the management of Campylobacter
infections.
