Abstract
Background: Enteritis caused by Campylobacter is considered as the most common acute bacterial diarrhea around the world. In most
cases, infection occurs as a result of consuming contaminated water or food, especially raw meat of fowls.
Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of campylobacter species among
pediatrics of Hamadan city, Iran.
Patients and Methods: A total of 120 stool samples from children less than 10 years old were examined from January 2013 to December
2014 in Hamadan, Iran. The samples were incubated in Campy-Thio enrichment medium for 1 - 2 hours and then cultured on a specific
medium; after that, the suspected colonies were analyzed for Campylobacter spp. identification by conventional tests. The identified
species by biochemical methods were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed
by disk agar diffusion (DAD) method.
Results: Twelve (10%) Campylobacter spp. from 120 stool samples were isolated including C. coli and C. jejuni. In the antibiotic susceptibility
test, the most frequent resistance was observed to ciprofloxacin 8 (88.8%), followed by 7 (77.7%) resistant strains to tetracycline, 7 (77.7%)
to erythromycin, 6 (66.6%) to clindamycin, 5 (55.5%) to meropenem, 4 (44.4%) to gentamicin, 3 (33.3%) to nalidixicacid and only 1 (11.1%) to
chloramphenicol.
Conclusions: Campylobacter is responsible for some important clinical problems such as enteritis and is also associated with meningitis
and hemolytic-uremic syndrome. It is imperative to monitor the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter spp. as well as other
the zoonotic bacteria.