Baseline Rates of Campylobacter and Salmonella in Raw Chicken in Wales, United Kingdom, in 2002

Meldrum, Richard; Tucker, D; Edwards, C.N.

doi:10.4315/0362-028x-67.6.1226

Cited by 35 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…It is not unusual to observe a high level of contamination (Ͼ40%) year round (8,17,62), and with a large proportion of contaminated chicken seasonal variation may be observed but is not always significant (17,60,62). Even when campylobacter seasonality is clearly marked in chicken, as studies have shown in the United States (59), Scandinavia (3,31,32,58), The Netherlands (27), and Wales (36), it is difficult to establish a direct correlation between human and chicken campylobacter isolates. Genotypic analyses generally point to a common pool of isolates and multiple reservoirs (7,32).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Temperature-Driven Campylobacter Seasonality in England and Wales

Louis

Gillespie²,

O’Brien³

et al. 2005

Appl Environ Microbiol

116

104

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Campylobacter incidence in England and Wales between 1990 and 1999 was examined in conjunction with weather conditions. Over the 10-year interval, the average annual rate was determined to be 78.4 ؎ 15.0 cases per 100,000, with an upward trend. Rates were higher in males than in females, regardless of age, and highest in children less than 5 years old. Major regional differences were detected, with the highest rates in Wales and the southwest and the lowest in the southeast. The disease displayed a seasonal pattern, and increased campylobacter rates were found to be correlated with temperature. The most marked seasonal effect was observed for children under the age of 5. The seasonal pattern of campylobacter infections indicated a linkage with environmental factors rather than food sources. Therefore, public health interventions should not be restricted to food-borne approaches, and the epidemiology of the seasonal peak in human campylobacter infections may best be understood through studies in young children.Nearly 30 years ago, campylobacter infection emerged as a leading bacterial cause of gastroenteritis in developed countries (47). Two species, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are responsible for over 99% of human campylobacter infections (6, 23). Major infection sources include undercooked poultry, contaminated milk, untreated water, and animal contact (24). The public health consequences of human campylobacter infection are large, in part because of its high incidence (61). In developed countries, campylobacter causes more illnesses than Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. combined (55). Only a fraction of cases are reported (25), and some estimates suggest as much as 1% of the population in the United States and Europe is affected by campylobacter each year (57). The annual cost in the United States in 1996 alone was estimated at US$4.3 billion (5), and £69.6 million was the estimated cost in the United Kingdom in 1994 (43). In addition to acute gastroenteritis, campylobacter infections may be complicated by neurological (35, 53), rheumatological (26, 34), and renal (10) problems. Effective prevention and control strategies to reduce the population burden of campylobacter infections require a robust understanding of the epidemiology of this disease. Case-control studies to investigate the origins of human infection showed that the majority of cases of campylobacter infection were not explained by the commonly recognized risk factors (1,13,14,30,37,44). For example, despite public health interventions focused on reducing food-borne transmission (16, 17), campylobacter incidence remains high (15). A striking phenomenon is the remarkably pronounced and consistent seasonal pattern, for which the explanation is unclear (29,38,41). This study investigated the relationship between seasonal variation in human campylobacter infection in England and Wales and environmental conditions to obtain new insights with respect to disease transmission. MATERIALS AND METHODSEpidemiological data. Campylobacter data...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Temperature-Driven Campylobacter Seasonality in England and Wales

Louis

Gillespie²,

O’Brien³

et al. 2005

Appl Environ Microbiol

116

104

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“…The second survey (HPA-Coordinated Local Authority Sentinel Surveillance of Pathogens [CLASSP]) sampled raw whole chicken carcass samples (fresh or frozen) from butchers (30%) and large multiple retail chains (70%) in participating local authorities in England and Scotland, and 532 isolates were selected. The third study, a rolling surveillance study from Wales and Northern Ireland (30), used the same methods as the CLASSP study, and 255 isolates were chosen. The samples from CLASSP and the Wales and Northern Ireland studies used in the current study were from 2004 and 2005.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Association of Campylobacter Genotypes Transcends Geographic Variation

Sheppard

Colles

Richardson³

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

126

142

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Genetic attribution of bacterial genotypes has become a major tool in the investigation of the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis and has implicated retail chicken meat as the major source of human infection in several countries. To investigate the robustness of this approach to the provenance of the reference data sets used, a collection of 742 Campylobacter jejuni and 261 Campylobacter coli isolates obtained from United Kingdomsourced chicken meat was established and typed by multilocus sequence typing. Comparative analyses of the data with those from other isolates sourced from a variety of host animals and countries were undertaken by genetic attribution, genealogical, and population genetic approaches. The genotypes from the United Kingdom data set were highly diverse, yet structured into sequence types, clonal complexes, and genealogical groups very similar to those seen in chicken isolates from the Netherlands, the United States, and Senegal, but more distinct from isolates obtained from ruminant, swine, and wild bird sources. Assignment analyses consistently grouped isolates from different host animal sources regardless of geographical source; these associations were more robust than geographic associations across isolates from three continents. We conclude that, notwithstanding the high diversity of these pathogens, there is a strong signal of association of multilocus genotypes with particular hosts, which is greater than the geographic signal. These findings are consistent with local and international transmission of host-associated lineages among food animal species and provide a foundation for further improvements in genetic attribution.Members of the genus Campylobacter, specifically Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are major causes of human morbidity worldwide and are the most common bacterial cause of gastroenteritis in industrialized countries (4). These bacteria are commonly found as apparently harmless members of the gut microbiota of many farmed and wild mammals and birds. This, together with the sporadic nature of most human disease, has contributed to the remaining uncertainty regarding the relative importance of different potential sources of human infection (34), inhibiting the implementation of effective public health interventions, which may have major economic consequences on intensive food production. Human infection with C. jejuni and C. coli has been epidemiologically linked to contact with pets and farm animals and to consumption of red meat, water, milk, and poultry (17,20,34).The advent of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for both C. jejuni and C. coli and its application to large and diverse isolate collections have enhanced understanding of the ecology (38) and epidemiology (10) of these important pathogens. It has been shown that there is substantial genetic differentiation between farmed ruminants and chickens (29) and even greater differentiation between farmed chickens and wild birds at the same farm site (5). Furthermore, MLST supports the application of popul...

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“…Broiler carcasses can become contaminated with Campylobacter during slaughter by contact with the intestinal contents or a contaminated environment (Berndtson et al, 1992;Hansson et al, 2004;Mead et al, 1995). Several studies have found that a high proportion of fresh retail chicken meat is contaminated with Campylobacter spp., often in high numbers (Allen et al, 2007;Dufrenne et al, 2001;Jorgensen et al, 2002;Meldrum et al, 2004). Furthermore, the higher amount of Campylobacter entering the slaughter process, the greater the risk of carcass contamination (Hansson et al, 2007;Lindblad et al, 2006;Rosenquist et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%