Temperature dependence of reported<i>Campylobacter</i>infection in England, 1989–1999

Tam, Clarence C.; Rodrigues, Laura C.; O’Brien, Sarah J.; Hajat, Shakoor

doi:10.1017/s0950268805004899

Cited by 71 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…We cannot claim that our study proves an absolute seasonality pattern of Campylobacter; rather, it indicates a possible peak in the so-called warm months resembling those indicated in other European countries (32,34,40). In our study, the number of samples varied over months for logistical reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Baseline Data from a Belgium-Wide Survey of Campylobacter Species Contamination in Chicken Meat Preparations and Considerations for a Reliable Monitoring Program

Habib

Sampers

Uyttendaele

et al. 2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

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, chicken meat preparations (n ‫؍‬ 656) were sampled at 11 processing companies across Belgium. All samples were tested for Campylobacter by enrichment culture and by direct plating according to standard methods. Almost half (48.02%) of the samples were positive for Campylobacter spp. The mean Campylobacter count was 1.68 log 10 CFU/g with a standard deviation of ؎ 0.64 log 10 CFU/g. The study revealed a statistically significant variation in Campylobacter contamination levels between companies; processors with a wider frequency distribution range of Campylobacter counts provided chicken meat preparations with higher Campylobacter incidences and concentrations. There was no significant difference between the counts of Campylobacter spp. in various preparation types. However, the Campylobacter counts and incidences in chicken wings were the highest and portioned-form products (legs, wings, and breasts) showed a higher probability of being Campylobacter positive compared to minced-form products (sausages, burgers, and minced meat). The proportion of Campylobacter-positive samples was significantly higher in July than in other months. Recovery of Campylobacter spp. recovery by direct plating was higher (41.0%) compared to detection after enrichment (24.2%). Statistical modeling of the survey data showed that the likelihood of obtaining a positive result by enrichment culture increases with an increase in the Campylobacter concentration in the sample. In the present study, we provide the first enumeration data on Campylobacter contamination in Belgian chicken meat preparations and address proposals for improving Campylobacter monitoring programs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Baseline Data from a Belgium-Wide Survey of Campylobacter Species Contamination in Chicken Meat Preparations and Considerations for a Reliable Monitoring Program

Habib

Sampers

Uyttendaele

et al. 2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The reasons for the seasonal variation are not fully understood but are likely to involve the frequency and nature of exposure of the flocks to Campylobacter spp. There is further evidence that climatic factors such as temperature correlate with both broiler flock and human infections (36,43,52). Temperature could also affect the environmental sources of Campylobacter spp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Season and Geography on Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli Subtypes in Housed Broiler Flocks Reared in Great Britain

Jørgensen

Ellis‐Iversen

Rushton

et al. 2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

103

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Campylobacter spp., especially Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli, are the main cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world (http://www.who.int/mediacentre /factsheets/fs255/en/). Chicken meat is frequently contaminated with Campylobacter (19), and it is a commonly held view that reducing the number of flocks infected with this organism would reduce the number of human Campylobacter cases. A better understanding of the epidemiology of Campylobacter in broiler flocks is required in order to design successful control programs at the farm level.In some European countries, flock colonization of chickens with Campylobacter has a clear seasonal pattern, with highest rates seen in the summer or autumn (20). Studies in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s suggested that there was no increase in the proportion of flocks colonized with campylobacters in warmer months (21, 28). However, we recently found that housed flocks were more likely to be Campylobacter positive in summer (46) in a geographical subset of the data in this study, and evidence of seasonality was also found in 401 batches reared in the United Kingdom in 2008 (20). The reasons for the seasonal variation are not fully understood but are likely to involve the frequency and nature of exposure of the flocks to Campylobacter spp. There is further evidence that climatic factors such as temperature correlate with both broiler flock and human infections (36,43,52). Temperature could also affect the environmental sources of Campylobacter spp. to which broiler chickens may become exposed. A better understanding of the roles of season and climatic factors and their relative impacts on broiler flock colonization with Campylobacter will be useful for policy makers and broiler companies who are formulating control programs to reduce flock infection with this important zoonotic pathogen.Typing of isolates from foods and clinical cases has provided evidence that many strains isolated from chickens share attributes with those from human cases (13,25,37). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) has been used to assess the relative importance of sources, reservoirs, and transmission routes for human Campylobacter infection in the United Kingdom (48,56). The population of Campylobacter isolates from human cases in England has been well analyzed by studies of isolates from Ͼ2,900 cases from three areas spanning the years 2000 to 2006 (14, 56). However, data sets for strains from chicken flocks at slaughter were smaller and may have been less representative. For example, while 307 chicken isolates were cited

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“…The relationship between enteric infections and environmental temperature has been studied in Europe (Kovats et al, 2004(Kovats et al, , 2005Tam et al, 2006;Bentham and Langford, 2001), Australia (D'Souza et al, 2004;Bi et al, 2008;, the USA (Curriero et al, 2001), Canada (Fleury et al, 2006), and Asia . Most of these studies indicated that there was a positive association between temperature and enteric infections such as Salmonella infections and Campylobacter infections as well as Bacillary Dysentery.…”

Section: Infectious Diseases and Human Population Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%