The roles of environmental reservoirs, including wild birds, in the
molecular epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni have not been assessed in
depth.
Our results showed that game birds may pose a risk for acquiring
campylobacteriosis, because they had C. jejuni genomotypes highly similar
to human isolates detected previously. Therefore, hygienic measures during
slaughter and meat handling warrant special attention. On the contrary, a
unique phylogeny was revealed for the western jackdaw (right) isolates, and certain
genomic characteristics identified among these isolates are hypothesized to
affect their host specificity and virulence.
Comparative genomics within sequence types (STs), using whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST), and phylogenomics are efficient methods to analyze the genomic relationships of C. jejuni isolates.
Population Genetics and Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates
from Western Jackdaws and Game Birds in Finland
Sara Kovanen, Mirko Rossi, Mari Pohja-Mykrä, Timo Nieminen, Mirja
Raunio-Saarnisto, Mikaela Sauvala, Maria Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Marja-Liisa
Hänninen and Rauni Kivistö
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. February 2019 85:e02365-18; Accepted manuscript
posted online 14 December 2018, doi:10.1128/AEM.02365-18