INTRODUCTION
1.1 ACROBACTER INFECTION: A RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Food-borne infections are gaining importance due to alarming increase in the number of outbreaks in the recent years throughout the world. Important food-borne bacterial pathogens include Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus, Bacillus cereus, CLotridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum and Arcobacter. While the virulence and pathogenesis of certain pathogens has been dissected thoroughly, pathogens like Arcobacter are still in the dark zone needing immediate attention (Aski et al., 2016; Webb et al., 2016).
During recent years, Arcobacter spp. has been identified as an emerging food-borne zoonotic pathogen worldwide and the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) has classified Arcobacter as a serious hazard to human health (Shah et al., 2011; Aski et al., 2016).
Arcobacter was very first isolated and described from aborted bovine fetal tissues and later from porcine fetuses. Arcobacters are implicated as causative agents of diarrhea, mastitis and abortion in animals, while causing bacteremia, endocarditis, peritonitis, gastroenteritis and diarrhea in humans. Their presence in blood samples of humans with cirrhosis and gangrenous appendicitis furthermore complicates the situation (Badilla-Ramìrez et al., 2016; Webb et al., 2016). Three species of Arcobacter namely A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii are more commonly associated with clinical conditions. As the Arcobacter organisms are commonly isolated from fecal samples of healthy animals and humans and are unable to satisfy the Koch's postulate, their pathology and pathogenicity is under dispute (Aski et al., 2016; Webb et al., 2016).