[Monitoring of selected virulence genes in Campylobacter spp. isolates obtained from horses].

This research study investigates the frequency and types of virulence genes (notably, cadF, flaA, iam) and cytotoxin formation genes (specifically, cdtA, cdtB, cdtC) found in the Campylobacter species obtained from 100 non-symptomatic stallions. The study revealed that 25% of the horses harbor the Campylobacter bacteria, with varying distributions of specific Campylobacter species and virulence genes, though no isolates showed simultaneous synthesis of CDT toxin.

Objective and Methodology

• This study sought to determine the prevalence of certain virulence genes and toxin-formation genes in the bacteria species, Campylobacter spp., obtained from horses.
• One hundred fecal samples were collected from stallions that showed no symptoms of campylobacteriosis.
• Molecular biology techniques were used to detect the presence of Campylobacter spp. and to differentiate between the species present.

Findings And Interpretations

• The bacterium Campylobacter spp. was present in 25 percent of the horse samples.
• The positive samples further revealed three different types of species namely: C.jejuni, found in 68%, C.coli in 28% and C.lari accounted for 4%.
• Among these identified species, researchers found the virulence genes: cadF in 10 cases, flaA in 5 cases, and iam in 3 cases. They also found genes responsible for the formation of the cytotoxin CDT: cdtA in one case, cdtB in 10 cases, and cdtC in 2 cases.
• Notably, none of the isolates demonstrated simultaneous occurrence of genes responsible for synthesizing the CDT toxin. This suggests that these horses do not carry Campylobacter spp. with a potentially high virulence risk due to the CDT toxin, a known factor for Campylobacter-related diseases.

Significance and Implications

• These results are significant because they provide insights into potential virulence factors in the seemingly healthy horse population, which can be a reservoir for zoonotic pathogens.
• The information about the prevalence of different virulence genes may also assist in development of targeted treatment strategies and public health interventions to contain and control Campylobacter-related infections.
• The absence of strains carrying all genes for CDT toxin synthesis might indicate a lower risk of severe symptoms associated with this toxin in the studied horse population. However, a larger sample size might be needed for more definite conclusions.