Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter Species in Poultry and Human Diarrhoeal Cases in Kano State

Campylobacter species are among the leading bacterial causes of food-borne diarrhoea globally, yet their epidemiological burden and antimicrobial resistance profile in Kano State, Nigeria, have not been systematically investigated. This study determines the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter species in broiler poultry and human diarrhoeal patients in Kano State, North West Nigeria. Caecal swabs from 150 broilers at slaughter were collected from three poultry processing facilities in Kano municipality. Stool samples were obtained from 120 human diarrhoeal patients at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital. Campylobacter was isolated using modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar under microaerobic conditions at 42 degrees Celsius. Speciation used multiplex PCR for hipO (C. jejuni) and ceuE (C. coli) genes. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing covered ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and gentamicin. Campylobacter was detected in 38 percent of poultry and 14 percent of human samples. C. jejuni predominated in both sources. Ciprofloxacin resistance was 72 percent in poultry and 61 percent in human isolates. Erythromycin resistance was 24 percent in poultry but only 11 percent in human isolates. Comparative genotyping using flaA-RFLP showed shared types between poultry and human isolates, supporting poultry-to-human transmission. The study establishes a high fluoroquinolone resistance baseline for Kano Campylobacter and advocates for veterinary quinolone restriction. Keywords: Campylobacter, poultry, diarrhoea, fluoroquinolone resistance, Kano State