Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

Campylobacter species represent a crucial group of zoonotic bacterial pathogens responsible for causing enteritis in various animals, including domestic, captive, wild, and non-captive animals, as well as birds. The objective of the current study was to comparatively isolate and identify Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from faecal samples of wild animals. A total of 521 faecal samples were obtained from zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks located in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh. Following aseptic collection, processing, and primary isolation, the growth of identified Campylobacters was evaluated using five different artificial media, classified into two categories: blood-free and blood-containing media. The overall prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was found to be 11.90% (62 out of 521 samples), with Campylobacter jejuni accounting for 7.10% and Campylobacter coli for 4.80%. After enrichment, plating on Columbia Blood Agar (CBA) supplemented with selective supplements resulted in a significantly higher prevalence (11.90%) of Campylobacter spp. compared to other media such as Modified Charcoal Cefoperazone Deoxycholate Agar (mCCDA) (10.56%) and Sheep blood agar (BA) (8.25%). The lowest isolation rate was observed on Chocolate Agar (CA) (5.76%) and Hi-chrome Campylobacter agar (HCCA) (4.22%). The results of multiplex PCR confirmed the identification of Campylobacter species as well as the sensitivity of each culture method.