Foodborne illness is spreading antibiotic resistance

trueCollege of Natural Science,Microbiology09/01/2023Foodborne illness is spreading antibiotic resistance

Working with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State University researchers have shown that antibiotic resistance genes are prevalent in the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of foodborne illness.The team found that more than half of the C. jejuni, isolated from patients in Michigan, are genetically protected against at least one antibiotic used to fight bacterial infections. Their report, recently published in the journal Microbial Genomics, provides valuable technical insights to epidemiologists, health care workers and other specialists.

Research from Michigan State University, recently published in the journal Microbial Genomics, has shown that more than 100 strains of Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of foodborne illness, circulating in Michigan are resistant to at least one antibiotic.
Working with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the MSU team isolated the strains from patients in Michigan hospitals and identified a high frequency of antibiotic resistance genes within jejuni genomes and demonstrated that most strains were associated with chicken or cattle sources.
This finding is concerning, as these genes can be readily transferred to other bacteria in the gut during infections or in animal reservoirs, creating more resistant pathogens.
The research highlights ways to reduce the number of infections and slow the spread of those genes, such as handwashing and avoiding cross-contamination while cooking beef and poultry products.

Matt Davenport

A colorized electron microscope image shows a close-up of Campylobacter jejuni bacteria, many of which carry antibiotic resistant genes, as shown by Michigan State University researchers.

Campylobacter jejuniantibiotic resistancefoodborne illnessesmicrobiology and molecular genetics