ABSTRACT
The bowels from 50 swine aged between 4 and 6 months with enteritis/diarrhea were used to study the natural colonization characteristics of Campylobacter in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, colon, and rectum, and to biochemically classify the isolated species. After intestinal mucosae scraping and vigorous homogeneization in thioglycollate liquid medium with glass beads, the isolates were obtained by filtration and culture on thioglycollate agar with 20% bovine blood at 37º C; isolates were also obtained by direct culture using the same mucosae on the same agar base with the addition of Butzler selective medium and incubation at 43º C. Both cultures were incubated for 72 hours in microaerophilia. The results showed significant colonization differences between the six segments (P<0.001) and also between the small intestine (7 isolates) and large intestine (4 isolates) (P<0.001). The ileum showed the highest frequency with 12 (57%) isolates (P<0.001). No significant difference was seen between the large intestine segments (P>0.05). Campylobacter coli was the most common organism with 11 (52%) isolated strains: 6 (28.3%) in the ileum, 3 (14,4%) in the caecum, and 2 (9.7%) in the jejunum. Except for Campylobacter mucosalis with 1 (4.7%) isolate in the jejunum, the 3 (14.4%) Campylobacter jejuni/coli, the 2 (9.7%) Campylobacter lari and the 1 (4.7%) Campylobacter jejuni species also showed preference for colonizing the ileum in relation to the 21 isolates of these species in other segments.
KEY WORDS:
Swine; Campylobacter; colonization; intestine; mucosa.