Campylobacter spp. in Broilers on the Farm and After Transport

Abstract

Colonization of the ceca and contamination on carcasses of chickens by Campylobacter spp. was investigated. Samples were taken on the farm and after transport and holding. In the first set of experiments, 20 chickens, obtained from each of 10 broiler farms, were collected from houses containing 6- to 7-wk-old birds. Half of the birds were slaughtered at the farm; the other half were transported (10 birds per chicken coop) to a holding facility and killed within 16 to 18 h. The levels of Campylobacter spp. on the carcass and in the ceca were assessed. Ceca from birds in 9 of the 10 farms sampled were positive for Campylobacter spp. Colonization levels ranged from 10(4.11) to 10(7.28) cfu Campylobacter spp./g cecal matter, except on one farm, where the organism was not isolated. The mean count on the farm was 10(5.44) cfu Campylobacter spp./g cecal material, and after transport the mean was 10(6.15) cfu/g. Significant increases (P = .0085) in levels of Campylobacter spp. on the chicken carcasses occurred after transport. Levels of Campylobacter spp. enumerated from unprocessed chicken carcasses after transport averaged 10(7.11) per carcass, up from an average of 10(3.66) cfu per carcass of the farm. To further verify this observation, field trials were conducted to assess levels on carcasses before and after commercial transport. Employing five farms and 200 6-wk-old chickens, the above observations were confirmed: prior to transport 12.1% of the chickens harbored an average of 10(2.71) cfu per carcass, but after transport 56.0% of the chicken exteriors harbored an average of 10(5.15) cfu per carcass. The results of this study indicate that transport and holding prior to processing contributes to the Campylobacter spp. of > 10(4) cfu normally found on processed poultry carcasses.

Prevalence of campylobacters and arcobacters in ducks at the abattoir

“…jejuni. They can be found on the carcasses of oven-ready ducks and duck products due to cross contamination by faecal matter from infected birds in the processing plant (Kasrazadeh and Genigeorgis 1987;Bryan and Doyle 1995;Stern et al 1995). Prescott and Bruin-Mosch (1981) examined 94 commercially reared ducks and found 88% carrying C. jejuni subsp.…”

“…Campylobacter spp. are also natural inhabitants of the intestinal tract of many animals and birds (Skirrow 1990;Park et al 1991;Skirrow 1994;Stern et al 1995). Helicobacter pullorum has been implicated in human diarrhoea and as a cause of vibrionic hepatitis in chickens (Burnens et al 1994(Burnens et al , 1996.…”

Isolation and Characterization of Campylobacter Bacteriophages from Retail Poultry

“…Generally, a reduction in the numbers of campylobacters entering the human food chain is likely to have a beneficial effect on the disease burden. In particular, the rearing of broiler chickens is a prime target for intervention with bacteriophages, given the reported scale of Campylobacter colonization of broilers (12) and the relatively large numbers of campylobacters present in the gastrointestinal tract and secreted by colonized birds (31). As a first step toward implementing these strategies, we sought to establish whether bacteriophages were already present on retail poultry in order to gauge the possible impact of intervention and to establish whether these strategies would introduce any new biological elements into the human food chain.…”

Effect of Preslaughter Events on Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in Market-Weight Turkeys

“…Stern et al reported that transportation and holding increase Campylobacter carcass contamination in broilers (28). In their study, Campylobacter was detected on 12.1% of carcasses of broilers that were slaughtered on the farm (average ϭ log 10 2.71 Campylobacter spp.…”