jejuni strains obtained from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) over a five year period.
Hypothesis: Trends of antimicrobial resistance will continue to increase in Michigan. These trends will be vary from those reported by the national antimicrobial resistance monitoring system (NARMS).
Aim 2: Determine if multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) molecular-typing methods can associate c. jejuni genotype, antibiotic resistance and clinical outcomes.
Aim 2a: Characterizing epidemiological data to associate the risk factors for specific lineages of c. jejuni and drug/multi-drug resistant infections
Hypothesis: Host factors will be the greatest predictor of disease severity, such as age group. Prior treatment of antibiotic resistance, history of foreign travel, and an increase exposure to raw milk, poultry and farm animals will be a risk factors for c. jejuni infection and antibiotic resistant infections.
Aim 3: Determine if multidrug resistant phenotypes confer phenotypic advantages for c. jejuni, which would be associated with virulence characteristics such as, transmission, presentence, and