Isolation and genetic characterization of Campylobacter spp. strains in human and environmental samples: implications for public health

Abstract

A zoonosis and bacterial disease, campylobacteriosis, is predominantly caused by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, agents that are responsible for frequent cases of human gastroenteritis worldwide. It was investigated the presence of Campylobacter spp. in water samples in the lower course of São João river - RJ, and complement the research, in the water supply, wells, and volunteers' feces. The process for isolation and identification was done by phenotypic and genotypic analysis, characterizing the following species: C. jejuni (50%), C. coli (21.43%) and Campylobacter spp. (28.57%). The high isolation Campylobacter rate in São João river indicates that contamination by these bacteria and their possible retention in the natural environment. For non-detection in the public water distributed suggests effectivity in treatment process, since the water is removed from Juturnaíba lagoon, one of the points which presented higher percentage of positivity for this genus within our study. Public politicians and sanitation actions policies will represent an improvement the quality of life in population that is directly exposed, allowing mitigate health problems due to recreational use of this river.