Background Enteropathogenic Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are presently the most common cause of acute bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world. An understanding of sources and means of transmission of Campylobacter is an essential factor in order to reduce the incidence of Campylobacter-related gastroenteritis in man. Consequently a reproducible, sensitive and well-standardised typing scheme is critical in the successful discrimination of strains and in the subsequent investigations of outbreaks. For this purpose, a phenotypic typing scheme based on quantitative antibiogram determination based on Euclidean distance (QATED), was developed. Results and Conclusion The results obtained with this typing scheme demonstrated that individual livers of colonized pigs could be infected with multiple strains of Campylobacter spp. and subspecies types. In conclusion, phenotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli by QATED is a simple, inexpensive and discriminatory sub-species characterisation scheme, which may be useful in primary diagnostic clinical laboratories, where no specialist Campylobacter phenotyping or molecular genotyping schemes exist. It is especially suitable for food-bome outbreak investigations in the community, where a rapid and local response is required to aid with public health epidemiological investigations.

Genome sequence, PCR clone sequences and qPCR data, culture data

Background Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is considered to be common cause of haemorrhagic colitis (HC), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans. In a previous paper, we have demonstrated that EHEC are commonly found in the intestines of livestock. Infections in humans are, in part, a consequence of consumption of undercooked meat or raw milk. Argentina has one of the highest records of HUS (300–400 cases/year; 22/100,000 children under 4 years of age). The aim of this work is to communicate the first isolation of O145:H-from cattle in this country and characterize the virulence cassette, providing useful information to evaluate the risk of foodborne transmission of this emergent non-O157:H7 serotype. Results EHEC O145:H- was isolated from cattle in an Argentinian feedlot. Pheno- and genotype of nine strains were characterized, corresponding to several virulence cassettes: VT2+eaeA+ Mp+ (n = 5), VT2+eaeA+ (n = 1), VT1+eaeA+ Mp+ (n = 2), and VT1+eaeA+ (n = 1). Strains isolated from the same animal were considered only when they showed a different virulence pattern. The clonal relationship was studied by RAPD. Strains were distributed in two RAPD profiles, which corresponded to the presence of either, VT1+ or VT2+ genotype. No difference was detected by RAPD analysis between Mp+ or Mp- strains. Conclusions This was the first isolation of EHEC O145:H- serotype in Argentina enlarging the list of non-O157:H7 serotypes isolated from cattle in this country by us. All O145:H-strains carried several virulence factors which allow us to predict their potential ability to develop haemolytic uraemic syndrome in humans.

This data set contains information on the concentration of selected gastrointestinal viral and bacterial pathogens extracted from raw wastewater. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Wu, H., M.A. Juel, S. Eytcheson, T.G. Aw, M. Munir, and M. Molina. Temporal and spatial relationships of CrAssphage and enteric viral and bacterial pathogens in wastewater in North Carolina. WATER RESEARCH. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 239: 120008, (2023).

Background The past three decades have witnessed the rise of Campylobacter enteritis in man from virtual obscurity to notoriety, with present isolation rates superseding those of other enteric pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. in most developed countries. Although campylobacters are not completely new to applied bacteriology, they have evaded traditional isolation techniques used for the isolation of pure cultures, apart from single isolations that were free from competing organisms. Offals, in particular liver have been decribed as both a source of campylobacters, as well as a route of transmission of this organism to human. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an optimum method for the recovery of Campylobacter spp. from porcine liver. Results Four isolation techniques (methods A-D) were compared in a small pilot study for their ability to successfully recover campylobacters from freshly eviscerated porcine liver. The optimum isolation method involved direct swabbing of the liver tissues followed by plating onto Preston Selective medium, which was superior to methods involving mechanical disruption to liver tissues, including direct plating and enrichment methods, with and without blood. Consequently, any isolation method that involves disruption of liver tissue e.g. homogenisation or stomaching, is not suitable for the detection of campylobacters from liver and hence it is recommended that employment of a direct swabbing technique without mechanical disruption of tissues in combination with selective plating to optimally recover campylobacters from freshly eviscerated liver. Conclusions Employment of a direct swabbing technique in combination with selective plating allow Campylobacter spp. to be optimally recovered from freshly eviscerated liver and therefore this technique is recommended when examining liver for the presence of this organism.

Campy STICS data. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Lye, D., I. Struewing, T. Gruber, K. Oshima, E. Villegas, and J. Lu. A Gallus gallus Model for Determining Infectivity of Zoonotic Campylobacter. Frontiers in Microbiology. Frontiers, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND, 10: 2292, (2019).

Genome sequence, PCR clone sequences and qPCR data. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Linz, D., K. McIntosh, I. Struewing, S. Klemm, B. McMinn, R. Haugland, E. Villegas, and J. Lu. Genomic Characterization and Wetland Occurrence of a Novel Campylobacter Isolate from Canada Geese. Microorganisms. MDPI, Basel, SWITZERLAND, 11(3): 648, (2023).