Aims: The genetic diversity of Campylobacter isolated from human infection and from poultry was assessed in strains originating in three different European regions in order to compare these two hosts and to investigate European regional differences.
Methods and results: Randomly chosen isolates originated from Norway, Iceland and Basque Country in Spain were genotyped by sequencing of the short variable region (SVR) of flaA. A total of 293 strains were investigated, c. 100 per country with half originated from either host. The results indicate extensive diversity in both hosts and identified differences in the nature and distribution of genotypes between the countries. These differences could in part be related to geographical location, in that Campylobacter genotypes from Iceland and Norway were more similar to each other than either was to Basque Country.
Conclusions: Differences between the countries exceeded the observed differences between human and poultry isolates within a country.
Significance and impact of the study: Regional differences are extensive and should not be ignored when comparing genotyping data originating from different international studies.