eCite Digital Repository
Molecular Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Wild-Bird Fecal Material in Children's Playgrounds
Citation
French, NP and Midwinter, A and Holland, BR and Collins-Emerson, J and Pattison, R and Colles, F and Carter, P, Molecular Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Wild-Bird Fecal Material in Children's Playgrounds, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75, (3) pp. 779-783. ISSN 0099-2240 (2009) [Refereed Article]
 | PDF Restricted - Request a copy 491Kb |
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology
Abstract
In many countries relatively high notification rates of campylobacteriosis are observed in children under 5
years of age. Few studies have considered the role that environmental exposure plays in the epidemiology of
these cases. Wild birds inhabit parks and playgrounds and are recognized carriers of Campylobacter, and young
children are at greater risk of ingesting infective material due to their frequent hand-mouth contact. We
investigated wild-bird fecal contamination in playgrounds in parks in a New Zealand city. A total of 192
samples of fresh and dried fecal material were cultured to determine the presence of Campylobacter spp.
Campylobacter jejuni isolates were also characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus
sequence typing (MLST), and the profiles obtained were compared with those of human isolates. C. jejuni was
isolated from 12.5% of the samples. MLST identified members of clonal complexes ST-45, ST-682, and ST-177;
all of these complexes have been recovered from wild birds in Europe. PFGE of ST-45 isolates resulted in
profiles indistinguishable from those of isolated obtained from human cases in New Zealand. Members of the
ST-177 and ST-682 complexes have been found in starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the United Kingdom, and these
birds were common in playgrounds investigated in New Zealand in this study. We suggest that feces from wild
birds in playgrounds could contribute to the occurrence of campylobacteriosis in preschool children. Further,
the C. jejuni isolates obtained in this study belonged to clonal complexes associated with wild-bird populations
in the northern hemisphere and could have been introduced into New Zealand in imported wild garden birds
in the 19th century.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Research Division: | Health Sciences |
| Research Group: | Epidemiology |
| Research Field: | Epidemiology not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Public health (excl. specific population health) |
| Objective Field: | Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Holland, BR (Professor Barbara Holland) |
| ID Code: | 62987 |
| Year Published: | 2009 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 106 |
| Deposited By: | Mathematics |
| Deposited On: | 2010-03-31 |
| Last Modified: | 2010-04-30 |
| Downloads: | 1 View Download Statistics |
Repository Staff Only: item control page