Recovery of Campylobacter jejuni from surfaces of poultry slaughterhouses after cleaning and disinfection procedures: Analysis of a potential source of carcass contamination (original) (raw)
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Veterinary microbiology, 2008
Campylobacter is responsible for human bacterial enteritis and poultry meat is recognised as a primary source of infection. In slaughterhouses, cleaning and disinfection procedures are performed daily, and it has been suggested that disinfectant molecules might select for antibiotic resistant strains if shared targets or combined resistance mechanisms were involved. The aim of the study was to investigate if cleaning and disinfection procedures in poultry slaughterhouses select for antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli and to determine the genotypes of isolates collected after cleaning and disinfection. Nine sampling visits were made to four French slaughterhouses. Samples were collected from transport crates and equipment surfaces, before and after cleaning and disinfection. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of the recovered C. jejuni and C. coli isolates to six antibiotics and two disinfectants were measured. The C. jejuni isolates collected from equipment surf...
International Journal of Poultry Science, 2012
A total of 96 samples (3 scalding water, 3 final washing water, 30 non-eviscerated, 30 eviscerated and 30 cecal content) from three small-scale broiler slaughterhouses were evaluated. Bacteriological test was performed with mCCDA medium and positive samples were confirmed by PCR assays using 16S rDNA, hipO and asp primers to Campylobacter spp., Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli respectively. Bacteriological test showed the presence of Campylobacter spp. in 60 samples. However, according to the PCR assays, only 19 samples were confirmed as positive. Non-eviscerated and eviscerated carcasses had fewer numbers of samples positive for Campylobacter spp. (63 and 50%, respectively) than the cecal content samples (77%). No positive were found in the scalding and the final washing water samples. No differences (P>0.05) were observed between PCR and biochemical tests for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli identification. Chicken meats from small-scale slaughterhouses in Lima, Peru are potential reservoirs of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli and this contamination was associated to some deficiencies in slaughter process, principally during the evisceration process. The method presented in this paper has shown to be suitable determination of Campylobacter species in faecal, meat and water samples.
BioMed Research International, 2015
This study aimed to analyse the diversity of the Campylobacter jejuni population in broilers and to evaluate the major source of contamination in poultry meat. Eight rearing cycles over one year provided samples from three different broiler farms processed at the same slaughterhouse. A total of 707 C. jejuni were isolated from cloacal swabs before slaughter and from the breast skin of carcasses after slaughter and after chilling. All suspected Campylobacter colonies were identified with PCR assays and C. jejuni was genotyped by sequence analysis of the flaA short variable region (SVR) and by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using SmaI enzyme. Phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles were also assayed using minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The flocks carried many major C. jejuni clones possibly carrying over the rearing cycles, but cross contamination between farms may happen. Many isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolones, raising an issue of high public concern. Specific Campylobacter populations could be harboured within each poultry farm, with the ability to contaminate chickens during each new cycle. Thus, although biosecurity measures are applied, with a persistent source of contamination, they cannot be efficient. The role of the environment needs further investigation to better address strategies to control Campylobacter.
Poultry science, 2014
The objective of this study was to develop a real-time PCR assay for rapid identification of Campylobacter jejuni and to apply the method in analyzing samples from poultry processing. A C. jejuni-specific primer set targeting a portion of the C. jejuni hippuricase gene was developed. The specificity of the newly designed primer pair was verified using 5 C. jejuni strains and 20 other bacterial strains. Sensitivity was determined to be as low as 1 genome copy per reaction. A total of 73 samples were collected at different sites along the processing line during 2 visits to a poultry slaughterhouse and were examined by direct plating onto modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar or after enrichment in Bolton broth followed by plating on modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar. The newly developed real-time PCR assay was used to identify the presumptive colonies as belonging to C. jejuni. A real-time PCR assay targeting 16S ribosomal RNA was also applied to determine Ca...
Epidemiology and Infection, 2006
The subtypes of Campylobacter isolates from human infections in two Danish counties were compared to isolates from retail food samples and faecal samples from chickens, pigs and cattle. During a 1-year period, 1285 Campylobacter isolates from these sources were typed by two methods: 'Penner' heat-stable serotyping and automated ribotyping (RiboPrinting). C. jejuni was the dominating species, but C. coli was more prevalent among food and chicken isolates (16%) compared to human isolates (4%). In total, 356 different combined sero-ribotypes (subtypes) were found. A large subtype overlap was seen between human isolates and isolates from food (66%), chickens (59%) and cattle (83%). This was verified by PFGE typing of 212 isolates representing selected subtypes. All frequent (n>3) subtypes found in food were also present in humans. Sixty-one per cent of the isolates from domestically acquired infections had subtypes that were also found in food as opposed to 31% of travel-associated infections. The results showed differences in the various Campylobacter populations, e.g. the Danish population as reflected in the domestically acquired infections and the Danish-produced food was more uniform than the isolates originating from outside the country. The study shows that most C. jejuni subtypes found in poultry food samples, broiler chickens, and cattle were represented in the domestically acquired cases, indicating that C. jejuni from these reservoirs are likely sources of human infections in Denmark.
Detection of Campylobacter from poultry carcass skin samples at slaughter in Southern Italy
Journal of food protection, 2009
Campylobacter is a major foodborne pathogen responsible for acute gastroenteritis characterized by diarrhea that is sometimes bloody, fever, cramps, and vomiting. Campylobacter species are carried in the intestinal tracts of mammals and birds, and sources of human infection include raw milk, contaminated water, direct contact with pets, and foods, particularly poultry. Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the species that account for the majority of human infections. The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in 190 poultry carcasses sampled at slaughter and to use a multiplex PCR assay to determine if the isolates were C. jejuni or C. coli. C. coli was not isolated, while C. jejuni was recovered from 52 (37.1%) of 140 carcasses for which pools of four sampling sites (neck, cloaca, breast, and back) were examined. In the remaining 50 carcasses, the four sites were analyzed separately, and C. jejuni was recovered from the samples in the following order: nec...
Microorganisms, 2020
Campylobacter jejuni is an emerging food-borne pathogen that poses a high risk to human health. Knowledge of the strain source can contribute significantly to an understanding of this pathogen, and can lead to improved control measures in the food-processing industry. In this study, slaughterhouse and surface-water isolates of C. jejuni were characterized and compared in terms of their antimicrobial resistance profiles and adhesion to stainless steel and chicken skin. Resistance of C. jejuni biofilm cells to benzalkonium chloride and Satureja montana ethanolic extract was also tested. The data show that the slaughterhouse isolates are more resistant to ciprofloxacin, and adhere better to stainless steel at 42 °C, and at 37 °C in 50% chicken juice. Additionally, biofilm cells of the isolate with the greatest adhesion potential (C. jejuni S6) were harvested and tested for resistance to S. montana ethanolic extract, benzalkonium chloride, and erythromycin; and for efflux-pump activity,...
Campylobacter jejuni from farm to fork: Campylobacteriosis and chicken meat
Journal of Current Science and Technology, 2021
Campylobacteriosis is one of the four primary etiologies of foodborne diarrheal illnesses globally. The disease affects 1 out of 10 individuals worldwide, with 33 million life years lost annually. There is evidence that campylobacteriosis is increasing in its occurrence in developed countries, but research is lacking in those with developing economies such as the Philippines. Of the 34 Campylobacter species known to date, C. jejuni subsp. jejuni and C. coli are the most common case isolates. These bacteria are commensals of the intestinal tract of animals, among which, chickens and their meats have been implicated as the primary source of human campylobacteriosis. All the components of the poultry production chain contribute to the zoonotic transmission of the foodborne pathogen. Inadequate farm biosecurity measures and unsanitary dressing procedures bleed into high contamination loads of chicken meats at the market and consumer levels. Attempts to decrease C. jejuni in poultry include rearing and management modifications, alterations in slaughter and dressing procedures, novel packaging technologies, and hygienic practices in food preparation. Antimicrobial resistance of C. jejuni has been increasingly reported globally. On the veterinary public health front, studies are needed to continuously assess C. jejuni as a pathogen in the poultry production line and the consumer level. This paper reviewed C. jejuni as a foodborne pathogen and its close association with chicken meat as its food vehicle of infection.
Epidemiology and Infection, 2003
From April 1998 to March 2000, 18 broiler flocks were followed from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse. Campylobacter was not found in the hatchery, 1-day-old chicks or in the rearing house before the arrival of the chicks. The infection of broiler flocks increased continuously during the rearing time, with a total of seven positive flocks at the end of rearing. Farms with Campylobacter-positive broilers were characterized by the circulation of Campylobacter in the environment (puddles, dung hill) and on the footwear of the farmer. The administration of antibiotics did not significantly reduce Campylobacter shedding. With the exception of one flock during rearing and a few flocks in the slaughterhouse with a mixed Campylobacter coli–Campylobacter jejuni infection, C. jejuni exclusively was found both during rearing and on the carcasses. A significant correlation exits between the contamination of the broilers during rearing and the carcasses after processing. No slaughterhouse was a...
Letters in Applied Microbiology, 1999
Investigations of a free-range broiler flock during the rearing period and at the slaughterhouse by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the flagellin (flaA) gene (flaA typing) have shown that poultry carcasses are contaminated by Campylobacter spp. strains which were previously present in the poultry faeces. Moreover, the investigation of the previous and the following batches in the processing plant using flaA typing have shown that cross-contamination between batches coming from different flocks occurs and is also a risk factor for the presence of Campylobacter spp. on poultry carcasses.