Trend analysis of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from Belgian pork and poultry meat products using surveillance data of 2004-2009.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp. isolated from pork and poultry carcasses, and pork and poultry meat (at slaughterhouse level, during meat cutting, and at retail) in Belgium, using available surveillance data over the period 2004-2009. The susceptibilities of 1724 Campylobacter isolates for ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, erythromycin, and gentamicin were tested by E-test. Gentamicin resistance was low (near 0%) until 2007, with an increase to over 20% by 2009 for all species-matrix combinations. Resistance to tetracycline fluctuated around the same level during the entire study period and was significantly higher (p-value of <0.05) in C. coli than in C. jejuni. Erythromycin resistance was low and showed a slight decrease between 2004 and 2007, but increased from 2007 until 2009. Fluoroquinolone and ampicillin resistance was significantly higher in isolates derived from poultry, compared to pork-related isolates. This correlates with the higher use of these antimicrobials in poultry husbandry. A total of 25% of C. coli isolates from poultry showed the most apparent multiresistance (resistance to four or more antimicrobials). Approximately 1% of the poultry-derived isolates (both C. coli and C. jejuni) showed resistance to all tested antimicrobials, while none was found in pork products.