DISTRIBUTION OF SEROTYPES OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER-COLI FROM DANISH PATIENTS, POULTRY, CATTLE AND SWINE

The number of human cases of enteritis caused by Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli is increasing in Denmark and other European countries. No systematic typing has earlier been performed on Campylobacter isolates of Danish origin. The primary purpose of this study was to provide a serotype distribution of Campylobacter isolates from Danish patients a nd the major food production animals. In addition, the occurrence of i ntestinal carriers of thermophilic campylobacters among these food pro duction animals was examined. In a nationwide survey, the individual i solation rate was 36% for broiler chickens, 47% for cattle and 46% for swine when sampled at the slaughterhouse. C. jejuni accounted for 83- 91% of the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in broiler chickens and cat tle, whereas 95% of the isolates from swine was C. coli. In human pati ents with Campylobacter enteritis, 94% of the isolates were C. jejuni and 6% were C. coli. Heat-stable serotyping (the 'Penner scheme') was performed on a total of 398 isolates from the four sources: human pati ents (n=145), broiler chickens (n=94), swine (n=111) and cattle (n=48) . Among human isolates, serotype O:1,44, O:2 and the O:4-complex accou nted for 62% of the C. jejuni isolates. These serotypes were also comm on in samples from broilers and cattle. In swine, C. coli O:30 and O:4 6 were most common. The serotype distribution of human clinical isolat es showed large overlap with the serotype distribution of campylobacte rs in cattle and chickens, and on this basis both could be major sourc es of human campylobacteriosis.