Susceptibility analysis of Arcobacter isolated from fresh cheeses from municipal markets to fluoroquinolones in Guaranda City, Ecuador

some species of the Arcobacter genus are considered emerging foodborne enteropathogens. However, the presence of this bacterium in cheese is little known. On the other hand, quinolones are considered first-line drugs for the treatment of campylobacter infection in human patients, but currently little data is available on the levels of resistance to these antibiotics among Arcobacter species. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the susceptibility of Arcobacter spp. isolated from 100 fresh cheeses, obtained from the municipal markets to Fluoroquinolones in Guaranda City, Ecuador. By culture, 47 out of the 100 cheese samples were positive with a total of 66 isolates. By PCR, the number of positive samples was reduced to 21 with 26 isolates. With respect to antimicrobial activity, 2 isolates showed resistance to Levofloxacin (7.69%) and 6 to Ciprofloxacin (23.08%). Nineteen strains exhibited intermediate resistance to Levofloxacin and 10 to Ciprofloxacin. This study is the first report on the presence of pathogenic species of Arcobacter spp. in fresh cheeses in Ecuador, which could act as a vehicle for transmission to humans and pose a potential risk to public health.