Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from chickens and from patients with gastroenteritis or Guillain-Barre or Miller Fisher syndrome

The high-resolution genotyping method of amplified fragment length polymorp hism (AFLP) analysis was used to study the genetic relationships between Ca mpylobacter jejuni strains infecting chickens (n = 54) and those causing ga stroenteritis in humans (n = 53). In addition, C. jejuni strains associated with the development of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) (n = 14) and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) (n = 4), two related acute paralytic syndromes in hum an, were included. Strains were isolated between 1989 and 1998 in The Nethe rlands. The AFLP banding patterns were analyzed with correlation-based and band-based similarity coefficients and UPGMA (unweighted pair group method using average linkages) cluster analysis. All C, jejuni strains shelved hig hly heterogeneous fingerprints, and no fingerprints exclusive for chicken s trains or for human strains were obtained. All strains were separated in tw o distinct genetic groups. In group A the percentage of human strains was s ignificantly higher and may be an indication that genotypes of this group a re more frequently associated with human diseases, We conclude that C. jeju ni from chickens cannot be distinguished from human strains and that GBS or MFS related strains do not belong to a distinct genetic group.