Campylobacters and their bacteriophages from chicken liver: The prospect for phage biocontrol

Abstract

Consumption of foods containing chicken liver has been associated with Campylobacter enteritis. Campylobacters can contaminate the surface of livers post-mortem but can also arise through systemic infection of colonising bacteria in live birds. The use of bacteriophage to reduce levels of Campylobacter entering the food chain is a promising intervention approach but most phages have been isolated from chicken excreta. This study examined the incidence and contamination levels of Campylobacter and their bacteriophage in UK retail chicken liver. Using enrichment procedures, 87% of 109 chicken livers were surface contaminated with Campylobacter and 83% contaminated within internal tissues. Direct plating on selective agar allowed enumeration of viable bacteria from 43% of liver samples with counts ranging from 1.8–> 3.8 log10 CFU/cm2 for surface samples, and 3.0–> 3.8 log10 CFU/g for internal tissue samples. Three C. jejuni isolates recovered from internal liver tissues were assessed for their ability to colonise the intestines and extra-intestinal organs of broiler chickens following oral infection. All isolates efficiently colonised the chicken intestines but were variable in their abilities to colonise extra-intestinal organs. One isolate, CLB104, could be recovered by enrichment from the livers and kidneys of three of seven chickens. Campylobacter isolates remained viable within fresh livers stored at 4 °C over 72 h and frozen livers stored at − 20 °C over 7 days in atmospheric oxygen, and therefore constitute a risk to human health. Only three Campylobacter-specific bacteriophages were isolated, and these exhibited a limited host range against the Camplylobacter chicken liver isolates. All were identified as group III virulent bacteriophage based on their genome size of 140 kb. The application of broad host range group II virulent phages (8 log10 PFU/g) to liver homogenates containing C. jejuni strains of diverse origin at 4 °C resulted in modest but significant reductions in the viable counts ranging from 0.2 to 0.7 log10 CFU/g.

Partial characterization and in vitro evaluation of a lytic bacteriophage for biocontrol of Campylobacter jejuni in mutton and chicken meat

“…jejuni bacteriophages isolated from retail chicken samples with genomes that ranged in size from 140 to 150 kb (Hwang et al, ). Group III bacteriophages constitute the genus Cp8unalikeviruses with genome sizes in the range of 130–140 kb (Firlieyanti et al, ).…”

“…Infections can be acquired by consumption of contaminated poultry meat (Atterbury, Connerton, Dodd, Rees, & Connerton, ; Carvalho, Gannon, et al, ). Due to the restrictions on the use of antibiotics in animal production, selection of the bacteriophages to be used has become a promising alternative for controlling these pathogens in animal products (Carvalho, Susano, et al, ; Firlieyanti, Connerton, & Connerton, ; Goode, Allen, & Barrow, ).…”

Campylobacter spp. and bacteriophages from broiler chickens: Characterization of antibiotic susceptibility profiles and lytic bacteriophages

“…In a study by Atterbury, Connerton, Christine, et al (), phages were obtained from only 11% of all samples used for isolation of bacterial viruses. Firlieyanti, Connerton, and Connerton () have also reported a low 2.7% isolation frequency of Campylobacter‐ specific bacteriophages. According to other authors (Carvalho, Susano, et al, ; Owens, Barton, & Heuzenroeder, ), the low activity of bacteriophages against Campylobacter spp.…”

Characterization and Application of Lytic Bacteriophages against <i>Campylobacter</i> <i>jejuni</i> Isolated from Poultry in Japan

“…The best samples for isolation of phages are thought to be environmental materials where the host bacterium is predominant Janež and Loc-Carrillo, 2013 . Therefore, Campylobacter phages have often been isolated from chicken samples with host strain C. jejuni NCTC 12662, which is highly sensitive to C. jejuni and C. coli phages Atterbury et al, 2003b;Connerton et al, 2004;ElShibiny et al, 2005;Firlieyanti et al, 2016;Hansen et al, 2007;Hwang et al, 2009;Owens et al, 2013 . On the other hand, susceptibility of Campylobacter strains that contaminate poultry in Japan to phages seems to differ from the strains in other countries.…”

“…In some reports, Campylobacter phages have been isolated from chicken samples meat samples, intestine samples, fecal contents, and excreta Atterbury et al, 2003b;Carvalho et al, 2010b;Connerton et al, 2004;Firlieyanti et al, 2016;Hansen et al, 2007;Hwang et al, 2009;Janež et al, 2014;Owens et al, 2013 . To date, however, there are no reports on the isolation of bacteriophages against Campylobacter in Japan.…”