Associations between animal welfare indicators and Campylobacter spp. in broiler chickens under commercial settings: A case study

Abstract

Few studies have previously investigated how poor animal welfare might be associated with infection of zoonotic pathogens in humans. This paper assesses the predictive value of the presence of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken flocks when animal-based measures related to footpad dermatitis, hock burns, body lesions and arthritis are identified under commercial conditions (high density). The study population included 32 flocks analysed on farm and at slaughter, slaughtered between April and August 2008 in six different slaughter plants in Brittany, France. Welfare and health indicators are those indicated by the European legislation and sampling was carried out in the framework of the European baseline survey on the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler chicken. Caecal contents, sampled both on farm and at slaughter, and carcass skin samples from the neck and breast at slaughter, were investigated for the presence of Campylobacter spp. Logistic models/classification trees were used to estimate the probability of the presence (or absence) of a specific foodborne pathogen in a flock based on specific animal-based measures (or combinations of measures) in order to study the potential relationship between welfare indicators and foodborne pathogen prevalence/incidence levels. On farm, flocks with more than 25% animals with severe lesions on between 25 and 50% of the footpad are predicted to be Campylobacter-positive whereas flocks where less than 13 individuals have arthritis are predicted to be Campylobacter-negative. The error rate on farm and at slaughter was 10 and 4% respectively indicating good predicting abilities. A poor welfare environment may result in stress, which reduces chicken immunocompetence making them more susceptible to Campylobacter spp. An infection with Campylobacter spp may lead to impaired defence and susceptibility to other pathogens which may result in greater intestinal excretion. Poor welfare and high growing rate lead to digestive troubles that lead to litter humidity. Litter humidity that, among other things, causes footpad dermatitis may also influence the horizontal transmission of the Campylobacter spp. infection due to the normal coprophagic behaviour of poultry. Reducing welfare problems by a better management of rearing conditions would not only improve broiler welfare, but it would also decrease the risks of Campylobacter contamination, of carcass condemnations and of economic loss for the poultry industry.

Impact of Heating Systems on Air and Litter Quality in Broiler Houses, Performance, Behavior, and Immunity in Broiler Chickens

“…The lower resistance levels contributed to higher bacterial counts and prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella in this group. These results were supported by those recorded by Alpigiani et al (2017) who stated that poor microclimatic conditions in broiler's houses contributed a higher litter humidity that acts as good media for enhancing the growth and multipli-cation of many pathogenic microorganisms as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Oakley et al (2018) also reported that alternations in macro and microclimatic conditions contributed to a stress factor and enhance pathogenic intestinal microorganisms and negatively influence performance.…”

Prevalence of ESβL, AmpC and Colistin-Resistant E. coli in Meat: A Comparison between Pork and Wild Boar

“…Carcasses can be contaminated by manipulation, reflecting the hygienic level of the slaughterhouse and the animals' health status and farming conditions [24]. It has been shown that good farming conditions and the respect of animal welfare are clearly correlated with a lower rate of animal disease and of bacterial microorganisms at the gut level (i.e., Salmonella and Campylobacter) [25].…”

Can good broiler flock welfare prevent colonization byCampylobacter?

“…Some welfare measures in the past have been observed to correlate with changes in the gut microbiota and immune response of birds, such as stocking density (Gomes et al, 2014;Guardia et al, 2011), food withdrawal, and heat stress (Burkholder et al, 2008). More directly, lesions on the footpad and arthritis have been shown to be strong predictors of Campylobacter prevalence (Alpigiani et al, 2017), further supporting findings that flock movement patterns and behaviour can also accurately predict Campylobacter prevalence (Colles et al, 2016). Our own previous mathematical modelling studies have highlighted the potential for stocking density (Rawson et al, 2019) to impact the population dynamics of Campylobacter within a flock, and have also shown that the colonization status of an entire flock is greatly impacted by the • Company -A two-factor categorical variable, depicting whether the flock is overseen by company "1" or "2".…”