PLASMID PROFILES AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI ISOLATED FROM ISRAELI CHILDREN WITH DIARRHEA

Thirty Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) strains isolated from stools o f Israeli children with enteritis were tested for sensitivity to eight antimicrobial agents (MIC) and the presence of plasmids. It was found that all the isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, fur azolidone and erythromycin. Of the 30 strains tested, 21 (70%) were fo und to be tetracycline-resistant, a relatively high resistance rate as compared with data from other countries and previous reports from Isr ael. Plasmids were detected in 17 out of 30 C. jejuni isolates (55.6%) . A total of nine different plasmid profiles could be distinguished; s ix profiles were represented by one strain each. Of the 21 tetracyclin e-resistant strains, plasmids were found in 17 isolates (80%) carrying from 1-2 to 5 plasmids of various sizes. No plasmids were found in te tracycline-sensitive strains, with the exception of one isolate which contained a 24.4 MDa plasmid and was co-trimoxazole-resistant. Our stu dies indicate a relatively high percentage of tetracycline-resistant C . jejuni isolates in the Tel Aviv area. In 80% of these strains, vario us plasmid profiles were detected.