Campylobactercolonization in poultry: sources of infection and modes of transmission

Abstract

Since its recognition as a human pathogen in the early 1970s, Campylobacter jejuni has now emerged as the leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in developed countries. Poultry, particularly chickens, account for the majority of human infections caused by Campylobacter. Reduction or elimination of this pathogen in the poultry reservoir is an essential step in minimizing the public health problem; however, farm-based intervention measures are still not available because of the lack of understanding of the ecological aspects of C. jejuni on poultry farms. Although Campylobacter is highly prevalent in poultry production systems, how poultry flocks become infected with this organism is still unknown. Many investigations indicate that horizontal transmission from environmental sources is the primary route of flock infections by Campylobacter. However, some recent studies also suggest the possibility of vertical transmission from breeder to progeny flocks. The transmission of the organism is not well understood, but it is likely to be through both vertical and horizontal transmission and may be affected by the immune status of the poultry host and the environmental conditions in the production system. Intervention strategies for Campylobacter infection in poultry should consider the complex nature of its transmission and may require the use of multiple approaches that target different segments of the poultry production system.

A note on the prevalence of <i>Campylobacters</i> in chicken flocks in Pakistan

“…Since its recognition as a human pathogen in the early 1970s, Campylobacter has now emerged as a leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in developed countries. Poultry, particularly chickens, account for the majority of human infections caused by Campylobacter (Sahin et al, 2002).…”

Campylobacter

“…Reduction or elimination of this pathogen in the poultry reservoir is an essential step in minimizing the public health problem. However, farm-based intervention measures are still not available because of the lack of understanding of the ecological aspects of C. jejuni on poultry farms and Sahin et al [141] have elaborately discussed the horizontal and vertical transmissions of Campylobacter infections affected by immune status of the poultry host and the environmental conditions in the production system. Eifert et al [36] compared various sampling techniques (cloacal swabs, faecal samples and environmental surface "drag" swabs) on 3, 5 and 7 weeks old poultry birds for presence of Arcobacter butzleri, a causal agent of human enteritis and found that environmental swabs recorded the highest percentage recovery, while intestinal tracts had none.…”

Differential antimicrobial peptide gene expression patterns during early chicken embryological development

“…Colonisation with some bacterial species can also have major implications for the agricultural industry and human health [2,3] . However, the first few days post-hatch are characterised by immune system immaturity as cellular components of the adaptive response are in a naive state and therefore slow to respond to infectious agents [4] , leading to increased early mortality in environments of high pathogenic challenge.…”