Prevalence and Multidrug Resistance of Campylobacter from Fresh,Refrigerated,and Frozen Chicken and Pork Meat in Southern China

Abstract

Campylobacter is a foodborne pathogen that poses a serious threat to food safety and public health. Due to the limited data on the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter across different retail meat sales modes in Southern China, this study primarily focuses on three sales modes of fresh, refrigerated, and frozen meat in Southern China. A total of 500 samples were collected from five cities in Guangdong Province between March and December 2021, with an overall Campylobacter detection rate of 20.8%, including only Campylobacter jejuni (53.8%) and Campylobacter coli (46.2%). The prevalence in fresh meat was significantly higher than in refrigerated and frozen meat and higher in butcher stalls than in supermarkets, with both chicken and pork showing a high prevalence. High resistance rates were also observed for ampicillin (95.2%), sulfamethoxazole (94.2%), and erythromycin (ERY; 90.4%), with 99.0% of isolates being multidrug resistant. The resistance of refrigerated and frozen meat was higher than that of fresh meat. This could be due to cold stress favoring the survival of resistant strains under selective pressure. The ERY resistance mechanisms were mainly mediated by the erm(B) gene, 23S rRNA mutations, and L22 ribosomal proteins. Multilocus sequence typing analysis indicated ST-828 clonal complex (CC828) as the most prevalent among ERY-resistant strains. This study reveals the prevalence patterns and high drug resistance levels of Campylobacter in retail meat in Southern China, providing a scientific basis for formulating targeted prevention and control measures for different sales modes.