Fitzgerald, ColletteStanley, KarenAndrew, Sarah M.Jones, Keith2010-03-292010-03-292001-04-01Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2001, 67(4), pp. 1429-14360099-224010.1128/AEM.67.4.1429-1436.2001http://hdl.handle.net/10034/95155This article is not available through ChesterRep. The full-text is available at http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/67/4/1429Although campylobacters have been isolated from a wide range of animal hosts, the association between campylobacters isolated from humans and animals in the farm environment is unclear. Flagellin gene typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to investigate the genetic diversity among isolates from animals (cattle, sheep, and turkey) in farm environments and sporadic cases of campylobacteriosis in the same geographical area. Forty-eight combined fla types were seen among the 315 Campylobacter isolates studied. Six were found in isolates from all four hosts and represented 50% of the total number of isolates. Seventy-one different SmaI PFGE macrorestriction profiles (mrps) were observed, with 86% of isolates assigned to one of 29 different mrps. Fifty-seven isolates from diverse hosts, times, and sources had an identical SmaI mrp and combined fla type. Conversely, a number of genotypes were unique to a particular host. Molecular evidence is provided which suggests a link between campylobacters in the farm environment with those causing disease in the community.encampylobactersfarm animalsdiseasesArticleApplied and Environmental Microbiology