Version 1: Molecular Typing of Campylobacter jejuni diarrheal isolates in a Hospital in Makokou, Gabon by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR).

Context: Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for 80% of the cases of human foodborne bacterial enteric infections worldwide. However, limited data on its genetic diversity exist, especially using the Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR). The aim of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from infant diarrheal feces at the Omar Bongo Ondimba Regional Health Center of Makokou (CHROBOM), Gabon. 

Material and methods: 58 strains of Campylobacter jejuni from patients with gastroenteritis were used for this work. The ERIC-PCR method was used to characterize genetic diversity. The binomial manual method via the online analysis system (http://insilico.ehu.es/dice_upgma/) was used to establish the dendrogram and calculate the discriminatory power of the Simpson diversity index (D). 

Results: The genotyping of Campylobacter jejuni isolates by the ERIC-PCR method revealed a discriminatory index D=0.8451, dividing the 58 isolates into 10 clusters, with 33 genotypic profiles, including 22 non-repeated profiles and 11 repeated profiles. These results indicate a rather polymorphic diversity of Campylobacter jejuni in the Makokou region of Gabon. 

Conclusion: The high discriminatory diversity index obtained in this study demonstrates the polymorphic richness within Campylobacter jejuni strains as revealed by the ERIC-PCR method.