Campylobacter jejuni isolates in Finnish patients differ according to the origin of infection

Background: Campylobacter jejuni is a significant cause of bacterial enteritis worldwide. Very little is known about the pathogenicity mechanisms and virulence factors of this important enteropathogen. C. jejuni isolates from 166 Finnish patients, collected from July to December in 2006, were studied for the presence of putative virulence factors and susceptibility to antimicrobials. Isolates were tested for production of g-glutamyltransferase (GGT) as well as the presence of genes ceuE, cgtB, ciaB, cj0486, pldA, virB11, wlaN, and the gene cluster cdtABC. Bacterial characteristics were compared to information on foreign travel history as well as information on the course and the symptoms of disease obtained from questionnaires returned by patients. Results: Except for one domestic isolate, antimicrobial resistance was only detected in isolates of foreign origin. Univariate analyses showed association between bloody stools and both GGT production (p = 0.025) and the presence of cgtB (p = 0.034). Multivariate analysis verified that GGT production was more prevalent in domestic isolates (p < 0.0001), while the genes cj0486 (p < 0.0001) and ceuE (p < 0.0001) were associated with C. jejuni isolates of foreign origin. Conclusions: The results indicate that imported and domestic C. jejuni isolates differ significantly in several aspects from each other.