ARS | Publication request: PREVALENCE OF CAMPYLOBACTER AT SEVERAL STAGES OF AN INTEGRATED COMMERCIAL BROILER OPERATION

Submitted to: Poultry Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 30, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter is a leading cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide with poultry frequently implicated as a vehicle of transmission. This study's objective was to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler chickens from breeders to processing. Samples were analyzed for the presence of Campylobacter. Direct plating onto Campy-Cefex was used for carcass rinse and fecal droppings from breeder and grow-out houses; eggshells, paper pads, and fluff from the hatchery were enriched in Bolton broth. Fecal samples from a single broiler breeder flock were Campylobacter positive (50/50). Broiler flocks sampled at 5 weeks of grow-out were 100% (50/50) and 42% positive (21/50). Campylobacter was recovered from 55% (55/100) of the carcass rinses. None of the samples (0/80) from the hatchery were found to be Campylobacter positive. This organism becomes non-culturable soon after inoculation onto dry samples such as those taken in the hatchery. Campylobacter was readily isolated from breeder flocks, broiler flocks, and processed carcasses. However, cultural laboratory procedures were unable to recover Campylobacter from dry hatchery samples.