Investigation of Growth of Campylobacter Species From Clinical Specimens and Determination of Their Antimicrobial Susceptibility

Objective: Campylobacter species are one of the major causes of systemic infections and diarrhea for humans. In this study we aimed to investigate the proper medium to ensure Campylobacter isolation and to identify the resistance profiles of the isolates by studying antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Methods: In the study 405 stool samples which were sent to the microbiology laboratory from the patients with diarrhea complaint between May 01, and October 01, 2016, had been tested. Two different mediums - Charcoal Cephoperazone Deoxycholate Agar (CCDA) and Skirrow - have been used for Campylobacter isolation. Conventional tests performed on bacteria in isolated cultures and suspected Campylobacter isolates were identified with Vitek MS. Results: Campylobacter spp (2.2%) growth has been detected in nine stool samples among the tested 405. Six of them were identified as Campylobacter jejuni and three as Campylobacter coli. Seven (77.8%) of the nine isolates has been obtained on blood-based Skirrow medium. Two of those seven isolates have been obtained on coal-based CCDA medium, too. Two isolates (22.2%) have been grown only on CCDA medium. Antibiotic susceptibility has been examined by using disc diffusion method in according to the EUCAST criteria, on nine isolated Campylobacter isolates. Erythromycin (77.7%) was most susceptible and ciprofloxacin (77.7%) was found to be most resistant. Conclusion: The blood-based medium provides better growth than coal-based medium. It is thought that erythromycin, which has been found to be most sensitive among the antibiotics, should be used as the first choice and high quinolone resistance should be taken into consideration