Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Campylobacter Spp. Isolates from Environmental Samples in North Iran

The major purpose of this study was isolation, identification and characterization of Campylobacter spp. from environmental samples viz., domestic animals (cow, sheep, horses), poultry, sewage and river water in north Iran. Campylobacter spp. were isolated using pret-KB method and then identified by phenotyping tests. Finally, the identification of strain was verified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In general, 64 strains of campylobacters were isolated from all the sources. Out of all isolates 48 strains were catalase positive and 16 strains were catalase negative. The highest isolation rate of Campylobacter spp. was recorded from river water (36.92%) followed by poultry (34.88%), cow (28.57%), horses (20%) and sheep (9%), while lowest isolation rate was recorded from sewage (7.4%). Overall, according to these data Campylobacter spp. exist with high frequency in north Iran. In addition, this bacterium was isolated from all sources (river water, sewage, domestic animals and poultry). Hence, based on foregoing evidence environments in north of Iran are vehicles of Campylobacter spp. and, therefore, the people who live in this area must respect to the personal hygiene in order to avoid from Campylobacter infection.