Prevalence of pathogenic <i>Arcobacter</i> species in South Korea: Comparison of two protocols for isolating the bacteria from foods and examination of nine putative virulence genes

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Contamination of foodstuffs by potentially enteropathogenic <I>Arcobacter</I> spp. is becoming a concern worldwide. However, few studies have examined virulence-associated genes in isolates of <I>Arcobacter</I> spp. from food. Here, we investigated the prevalence of three pathogenic <I>Arcobacter</I> species, <I>A. butzleri</I>, <I>A. cryaerophilus</I>, and <I>A. skirrowii</I>, in chicken, pork, and leafy green vegetables (n = 323) in South Korea. Samples were examined using two different protocols selected from a literature review: Acrobacter selective broth (ASB) II + Arcobacter selective medium (ASM) II (protocol A), and ASB II + modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar supplemented with CAT (protocol B). Overall, <I>Arcobacter</I> spp. were detected in 45.8% of food samples, and the recovery rate of protocol B (37.8%) was significantly higher than that of protocol A (30.7%) (<I>p</I> < 0.05). Refrigerated chicken gizzard samples showed the highest detection rate (100%), followed by refrigerated chicken wing (79.5%), intestine (77.3%), neck skin (63.3%), pork (55.6%), frozen chicken legs (5.0%), and leafy green vegetables (4.4%) (<I>p</I> < 0.05). All isolates from chicken and leafy green vegetables were identified as <I>A. butzleri</I>, whereas <I>A. cryaerophilus</I> and <I>A. skirrowii</I> were mainly detected in pork. Most samples (95.8%) harbored more than one of nine putative virulence factors (<I>cadF</I>, <I>ciaB</I>, <I>cj1349</I>, <I>hecA</I>, <I>hecB</I>, <I>mviN</I>, <I>pldA</I>, <I>irgA</I>, and <I>tlyA</I>), and 91.3% harbored more than two. Isolates harboring all nine putative virulence genes were obtained from 1.9% of samples: five pork and one chicken. This study provides comprehensive and <I>de facto</I> evidence regarding prevalence of an emerging pathogen, <I>Arcobacter</I> spp., in various foods, along with their virulence potential. The results justify further research with respect to their role in food safety.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> This study provides comprehensive and <I>de facto</I> prevalence of <I>Arcobacter</I> spp. </LI> <LI> <I>Arcobacter</I> spp. were detected from 45.8% of food samples in South Korea. </LI> <LI> Frequently in refrigerated chicken > pork > frozen chicken > leafy green vegetables. </LI> <LI> Most isolates (95.8%) harbored more than one of the nine putative virulence factors. </LI> <LI> 91.3% contained more than two virulence factors, and 1.9% harbored all nine. </LI> </UL> </P>