28.06.2013

Agunos et al (2013) Emerging Infectious Diseases

Human campylobacteriosis, a notifiable disease in Canada, is the most common cause of bacterial enteric infections among persons in Canada; in 2005, the incidence rate of campylobacteriosis was 30.9 cases per 100,000 population. In chickens, Campylobacter spp. are not clinically relevant; however, the presence of these bacteria in poultry represents a potential threat to public health.
The report tracked resistance to ciprofloxacin in Campylobacter from chicken meat between 2003 and 2010 across seven Canadian provinces, finding the most notable rates of resistance in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Since initiation of surveillance, prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance has significantly increased in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The highest recovery of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter spp. was in British Columbia in 2009 (28.6%, 22/77), when recovery of all Campylobacter spp. (52.7%, 77/146) was also highest. Fluoroquinolones are critically important to human medicine and are not labeled for use in poultry in Canada.