Use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and flagellin gene typing in identifying clonal groups of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in farmand clinical environments

Although campylobacters have been isolated from a wide range of animal host s, the association between campylobacters isolated from humans and animals in the farm environment is unclear. We used flagellin gene typing and pulse d-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to investigate the genetic diversity amo ng isolates from animals (cattle, sheep, and turkey) in farm environments a nd sporadic cases of campylobacteriosis in the same geographical area. Fort y-eight combined fla types were seen among the 315 Campylobacter isolates s tudied. Six were found in isolates from all four hosts and represented 50% of the total number of isolates. Seventy-one different SmaI PFGE macrorestr iction profiles (mrps) were observed, with 86% of isolates assigned to one of 29 different mrps. Fifty-seven isolates from diverse hosts, times, and s ources had an identical SmaI mrp and combined fla type. Conversely, a numbe r of genotypes were unique to a particular host. We provide molecular evide nce which suggests a link between campylobacters in the farm environment wi th those causing disease in the community.