A Longitudinal Study of Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Day of Hatch through Processing by Automated Ribotyping

Abstract

Comparisons of bacterial populations over long periods of time allow researchers to identify clonal populations, perhaps those responsible for contamination of farms or humans. Salmonella and Campylobacter can cause human illness, and our objective was to use a library typing system to track strains that persist in the poultry house and through the processing plant. Two farms, over four consecutive flocks, were studied. Multiple samples were taken of the poultry house environment, feed mill, transport crates, and carcasses in the processing plant. Sample collection on the farm took place on chick placement day, midgrowout, and the day of harvest. This study found that 80.3% of isolates belonged to a single strain of Salmonella Kentucky that persisted in several environmental samples for all flocks at both farms, from chick placement day to the final product at the plant. Surgical shoe covers produced most isolates (n = 26), and processing day yielded the highest recovery (n = 68). Additional serotypes were recovered, but the Salmonella Kentucky-positive eggshells and chick mortality appeared to be the source of the organism for both farms. All Campylobacter isolates recovered were identified as C. jejuni. Most Campylobacter isolates (90.1%) belonged to one of three core strains. C. jejuni was not recovered on chick placement day. Cecal droppings yielded all nine strains. Most isolates (98.2%) were from one farm. Cluster analysis grouped C. jejuni and Salmonella isolates into four and six distinct clusters, respectively, on the basis of a similarity level of 80%.

Evolution of the iss Gene in Escherichia coli

“…The recent emergence of Salmonella serovar Kentucky strains among poultry and the strains' presence among cattle and swine and their presence within retail meats have been reported without plausible explanation (4,26,36,37,41,42,45,52,55,59). However, recent genome sequencing efforts have identified the ColV plasmid as a component of the genome of a multidrug-resistant Salmonella serovar Kentucky isolate (GenBank accession no.…”

Campylobacter Prevalence in the Broiler Supply Chain in the Netherlands

“…Results of the analysis showed a strong seasonal effect for all 3 sampling points (P < 0.001), with the greatest prevalence in the third quarter of the year (Figure 2). Seasonal variation for Campylobacter with peaks in the summer and fall has also been found by others (Wallace et al, 1997;van der Zee et al, 2005;McCrea et al, 2006;Meldrum et al, 2006;van de Giessen et al, 2006). Human Campylobacter infections in the EU also follow a seasonal pattern with peaks in wk 22 and 23.…”

Detection and monitoring of Salmonella in laying hen flocks

“…Sock swabs, comprising a folded section of tubegrip bandage applied over the ball of the foot of the sampler and turned four times during sampling, were first described in Denmark (Skov et al 1999). In the USA boot swabs utilising gauze surgical shoe covers were used and found to be superior to drag swabs (Caldwell et al 1994;McCrea 2005;McCrea et al 2006) even when the method of stepping on drag swabs was used (Buhr et al 2007). The overshoe-type boot swabs can easily be worn during normal flock inspection visits by the farmer and do not need to be turned, as the surface area available for sampling is already quite large ( Fig.…”