Prevalence in Bulk Tank Milk and Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni in Dairy Herds in Northern Italy

Abstract

. MLST revealed lineages that were common between milk and bovine feces but distinct between cattle and pigeons. In one herd, C. jejuni with the same genotype was isolated repeatedly from bulk milk and a cow with an udder infection. Our results showed a high prevalence of C. jejuni in bulk milk and suggested that udder excretion, in addition to fecal matter, may be a route of bulk milk contamination. MLST analysis indicated that pigeons are probably not relevant for the transmission of C. jejuni to cattle and for milk contamination.

Fecal Shedding of Thermophilic Campylobacter in a Dairy Herd Producing Raw Milk for Direct Human Consumption

“…The Campylobacter prevalence observed in our study is relatively low, similar to other studies performed in dairy herds (10,16) but significantly different from that reported by Bianchini et al (7) in an area close to that of our study but involving farms producing milk for different dairy products (i.e., raw or pasteuxized milk and soft or hard cheeses). The lower prevalence found in our study could be related to several factors.…”

“…Contaminated water has been implicated as an important source of Campylobacter infection for cattle (7,14,22,25,30). Ellis-Iversen et al (9) found that water trough hygiene was associated with Campylobacter excre tion and that more frequent emptying and cleaning of water troughs reduced the risk of Campylobacter infection in cattle.…”

Campylobacter jejuniInfections Associated with Raw Milk Consumption — Utah, 2014

“…These counts continually yielded acceptable results before and throughout the outbreak investigation. Previous studies have demonstrated a lack of correlation between bacterial counts and presence of pathogens in raw milk (9,10). Mandatory reporting, timely sample collection, pathogen testing, and on-site milk neutralization likely led to C. jejuni detection during this outbreak.…”

Human campylobacteriosis related to the consumption of raw milk sold by vending machines in Italy: Quantitative risk assessment based on official controls over four years

“…These values are in the range of the mean and maximum levels of contamination predicted by the model in simulation, namely a mean of 0.81 CFU and a maximum of 1789 CFU per serving (210 ml). Bianchini et al (2014) observed that, although rare, a cow with C. jejuni-induced mastitis causes a more constant positivity of bulk milk for C. jejuni. Here too quantitative data on milk shedding by cows with C. jejuni-induced mastitis are few, but two Italian studies reported milk contamination by direct milk excretion from a single animal with a single quarter with C. jejuni-induced mastitis (Cammi et al, 2009;Luini et al, 2009).…”