BIOTYPING OF CAMPYLOBACTER STRAINS ISOLATED IN LAGOS, NIGERIA USING THE MODIFIED PRESTON BIOTYPE

Fifty-eight Campylobacter strains were isolated from children with dia rrhoea at various health centres in Lagos and from healthy chicken. Tw enty - nine strains of Campylobacter were isolated from humans, while the same number were isolated from chicken. The strains were biotyped using the modified Preston biotype scheme. The Preston biotyping resul ts have been compared with the results of Penner serotyping. Out of fi fty-eight strains studied, the technique identified ten strains (17%) as C. coli, three (5%) as C. lari and fourty-five (78%) as C. jejuni, by the coding system. This technique identified twenty-eight Campyloba cter species. This method highlights the usefulness of this technique in the biotyping of local strains, however, when the two schemes are u sed in combination they give excellent typing results suitable for epi demiological purposes.