Prevalence, enumeration and strain variation of Arcobacter species in the faeces of healthy cattle in Belgium.

Abstract

Arcobacter species were isolated from faeces of healthy cattle on three unrelated Belgian farms, using a quantitative isolation protocol. Isolates were identified by m-PCR and characterized by modified ERIC-PCR. The Arcobacter prevalence on the three farms ranged from 7.5 to 15%. The prevalence in dairy cattle ranged from 5.9 to 11% and for young cattle and calves, the prevalence was determined as 18.9 and 27.3%, respectively. Of the 276 animals examined, eight had a bacterial load of more than 10(2) cfu/g faeces and low levels were detected in 22 animals using enrichment. The Arcobacter excretion ranged from 0 to 10(4) cfu/g faeces. Arcobacter cryaerophilus was the dominant species isolated from cows, but co-colonizations occurred in 26% of the Arcobacter excreting animals. Characterization of the 164 isolates showed a large heterogeneity and animals could be colonized with more than one genotype.