[Differentiation of thermophilic Campylobacter isolated from cases of infantile gastroenteritis].

Eighty Campylobacter thermophilic group strains were isolated from 79/813 (9.7%) fecal specimens obtained from infantile gastroenteritis cases in the period January 1981-December 1982. Sixty C. jejuni biotype 1, 1 C. jejuni biotype 2, 19 C. coli strains were identified on the basis of the schema proposed by Skirrow and Benjamin (8,9). Using the schema outlined by Hébert et al. (3) 4 biotypes were identified among the 60 C. jejuni biotype 1 strains: biotype 3 with 27 strains, biotype 4 with 14 strains, biotype 1 with 13 strains, biotype 2 with 6 strains. Four biotypes were also identified among the 19 C. coli strains: biotype 8 with 14 strains, biotype 5 and 7 with 2 strains, biotype 6 with 1 strain. Of the 80 strains isolated, 64 (51 C. jejuni and 13 C. coli) were assayed for typing. Data obtained with a passive hemagglutination technique showed a great variety of serotypes, the most common of which were serotypes 1 (12.5%) and 2 (10.9%), found in the species C. jejuni biotype 1 only. Seventeen strains could not be typed, the greatest percentage of them having being found among biotype 8 (7 out of 10 tested). This study has thus revealed a wide variety of species, biotypes and serotypes among the thermophilic campylobacters isolated in the Sienese Area.