Isolation, Identification and Determination of Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Arcobacter Butzleri Isolated from Chicken Carcass in Tonekabon

Arcobacter butzelri, is the most common genus of the Campylobacteriaceae family, known as an emerging zoonotic pathogen. The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of Arcobacter butzelri strains to antibiotics used in the treatment of infectious diseases in humans and animals. Therefore, 297 samples of chicken carcasses were collected in slaughterhouses of Tonekabon city. Suspected colonies were isolated and identified using biochemical test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to confirm the isolates. The pattern of antibiotic resistance of Arcobacter Butzleri to 16 antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration of the strains to tetracycline, erythromycin and gentamicin was determined by Broth Macrodilution (Tube) method. All of the 36 strains which were isolated and identified were resistant to penicillin 100%, ampicillin 100%, oxacillin 100% and also to resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole 94.4%, ciprofloxacin 94.4%, nalidixic acid 91.7%, azithromycin 91.7% and amoxicillin 80.6% were evaluated. Of the 36 isolates tested, all isolates were sensitive to gentamicin 100%. 72% of strains had MIC≥128 (g/mL) and MBC≥256 (µg/mL) for tetracycline antibiotics. There were also 10 MDR strains (27.77%) and 24 XDR strains (66.66%). The findings indicate the presence of Arcobacter butzelri in chicken carcasses and the high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance to various antibiotics in this area.