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Campylobacterspecies are a major cause of foodborne bacterial infections in both developed and developing countries worldwide. Campylobacter jejuniis responsible for the majority of infections. This study was conducted to identify virulence-associated genes in Campylobacterspecies isolated from livestock production systems in South Africa. A total of 250 fecal samples consisting of cattle (n=50), chickens (n=50), goats (n=50), sheep (n=50) and pigs (n=50) were randomly collected from livestock in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa between April and October 2018. The samples were analyzed for the presence of virulence genes in Campylobacterspecies using molecular PCR-based methods. It was found that 77 and 23% of Campylobacter jejuniand Campylobacter colirespectively were isolated from all the livestock samples. There were positive significant (P<0.05) correlations amongst all the virulence genes that were investigated. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were implemented to test for the effect of livestock species on the presence or absence of virulence genes. The study demonstrated that most of livestock species can potentially cause zoonotic infections and food poisoning due to the high prevalence of Campylobacter.The high prevalence of virulence genes highlights the significance of Campylobacterin livestock production systems in South Africa. This requires the implementation of one-health approaches to reduce the impact of foodborne and zoonotic diseases for the welfare of human and animal health.

Introduction The Sub–Saharan African region has some of the world’s highest prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). These infections are considered a major public health concern. Previous studies on the prevalence of C. trachomatisinfection in Sub-Saharan Africa have reported rates ranging from 3.1% to 36.8% in pregnant women. This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors associated with C. trachomatisinfection in pregnant women.Methods This study included 735 stored clinical samples that were collected from pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban from 2018 -2021. C. trachomatiswas detected using the Applied BiosystemsTMTaqMan®Assays from stored DNA samples.Results A total of 81/735 (11%) samples tested positive for C. trachomatisinfection. The overall median (Q1-Q3) age of the women was 29.0 years (24.0–35.0). The majority of the women who tested positive for C. trachomatiswere younger, median (Q1-Q3) age 26.0 years (23.0–32.0) vs 30.0 years (25.0–35.0) for the negative women (p< .001). Of the positive women, 96.3% were unmarried (p=0.014). Older women were less likely to test positive for C. trachomatisinfection (OR: 0.93; 95% CI 0.89–0.96 p= .001). Women who were married (OR: 0.25; 95% CI 0.06–0.70; p= .022), co-habiting with their partner (OR: 0.60; 95% CI 0.36–0.98; p= .048) and started having sex at older than 15 years (OR:0.26; 95% CI 0.09–0.87; p= .018) were less likely to test positive for C. trachomatiscompared to their counterparts.Conclusion This study showed that behavioural and clinical factors were associated with prevalent infections. In order to reduce prevalent infections, stronger risk reduction counselling messages need to be provided from the educational and public health sector.

Objective Macrolide resistance in Mycoplasma genitalium(M. genitalium) is increasing as a result of the widespread use of azithromycin in the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). To date, there are few published studies on macrolide resistance patterns in South African pregnant women. This study now contributes to the growing body of knowledge.Methods This study included 385 pregnant women living with HIV. Vaginal swabs were collected from consenting pregnant women and used for the detection of M. genitaliumusing the TaqMan assay.Macrolide resistance-associated mutations in the 23S rRNAgene were determined for all samples that tested positive for M. genitaliumusing the AllplexTMMG & AziR assay (Seegene) which allows for the simultaneous detection and identification of M. genitaliumand six mutations (A2058C, A2058G, A2058T, A2059C, A2059Gand A2059T) responsible for azithromycin resistance. The correlation between the TaqMan assay and AllplexTMMG & AziR assay (Seegene) for the detection of M. genitaliumwas also performed in a subset of 121 samples.Results Of the 385 samples tested in this study, 14 samples were positive for M. genitaliumestimating a prevalence of 3.6%. The same 14 samples also tested positive on the AllplexTMassay indicating a good correlation between the TaqMan Assay and the AllplexTM. Of the 14 positive samples, one sample carried a mutation at position A2059G denoting macrolide resistance in this pathogen. Mutations in the other regions of the 23S rRNAwere not detected. All assay controls used in the mutation scanning produced the desired results showing the validity of the assay.Conclusion In this study, macrolide resistance in M. genitaliumwas detected. Despite the low prevalence of resistance determinants ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance is vital considering that azithromycin is used in the syndromic management for the treatment of vaginal discharge syndrome.