Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter in Broiler Chicken Along the Food Chain in Canada

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat worldwide. The main objective of this study was to compare AMR in Campylobacter from broiler chickens raised on Canadian farms and their products in different geographical regions of Canada. To do this, antimicrobial susceptibility results from isolates of Campylobacter recovered from a national microbiological baseline study conducted in federally registered establishments and in the retail marketplace were analyzed. Among 1460 isolates tested, 774 (53%) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, with a predominance of three profiles: tetracycline (39%), quinolone–tetracycline (6.6%), and quinolones only (3.5%). The results showed no significant difference in the frequency of resistant profiles (p ≥ 0.05) among the isolates originating from different points in the food processing chain at slaughterhouses and in retail establishments. This suggests that AMR observed in Campylobacter isolates from raw chicken at retail originated further upstream in the system. A difference in the frequency of certain resistance profiles was observed between the regions of Canada. For instance, in British Columbia, there was more resistance to quinolones, while in Ontario and Quebec, Campylobacter isolates were more resistant to tetracyclines, macrolides, ketolides, and lincosamides. Comparison of AMR data from this study with those from the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) did not show any significant difference and provides evidence that CIPARS produces nationally representative resistance results.