Occurrence and Characterization of Campylobacter in the Brazilian Production and Processing of Broilers

Abstract

Twenty-two commercial broiler flocks and their carcasses, totaling 546 samples (450 collected from a poultry farm and 96 from a slaughterhouse), were surveyed for the presence of Campylobacter. The positive results for Campylobacter among the analyzed samples were homogeneous, yielding 81.8% for cecal droppings, 80.9% for feces, and 80.4% for cloacal swabs. Pre-enrichment and direct plating showed that 77.85% and 81.8% of cloacal swabs, respectively, were positive for Campylobacter compared to 99.0% and 97.9% of carcasses testing positive with the pre-enrichment and direct plating methods. The Campylobacter count averaged 7.0 log10 colony-forming units (CFU)/g in cecal droppings, 5.15 log10 CFU/carcass after defeathering, and 4.24 log10 CFU/carcass after chilling. The samples were identified by the API Campy system as Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni (68.8%), Campylobacter coli (8.3%), Campylobacter jejuni subsp. doylei (6.3%), Campylobacter upsaliensis (4.2%), and Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus (2.1%). The analyzed broiler flocks were positive for Campylobacter in 81.8% of the cases, thus characterizing the occurrence of this pathogen in a broiler-producing region in southern Brazil. These results highlight the importance of programs targeted at the reduction of Campylobacter in poultry products, in order to minimize the risks for consumers.

Campylobacter in Broiler Chicken and Broiler Meat in Sri Lanka: Influence of Semi-Automated vs. Wet Market Processing on Campylobacter Contamination of Broiler Neck Skin Samples

“…Because there are few reports on flock prevalence of Campylobacter in South Asia the results were compared with other tropical countries. The prevalence observed in the current study is similar to that observed in Tanzania 69.8% [ 28 ] and in Brazil 80% [ 29 ]. Reunion Island, which is situated in the Indian Ocean, reported a prevalence rate of 54% in their broiler flocks [ 30 ].…”

Campylobacteriosis Agents in Meat Carcasses Collected from Two District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…The isolates displayed high phenotypic resistance to tetracycline (94.17%), erythromycin (87.03%), ampicillin (97.08%), and ciprofloxacin (76.25%). In Brazil, studies have shown that there is a high prevalence of quinolones (72.2%), tetracycline (43%), erythromycin (38.9%), and ampicillin (26.9%) resistance in Campylobacter in circulation [87,88]. In Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, many Campylobacter strains are resistant to quinolones (47-78%) as well as tetracycline (40.8-65.9% in Argentina and Bolivia), erythromycin (58.6% to 61.4% in Bolivia and Chile), and ampicillin (47.2% in Argentina) [89].…”

Campylobacter in broiler slaughter samples assessed by direct count on mCCDA and Campy-Cefex agar

“…After enrichment in Bolton broth to boost low cell numbers in some samples, all pre- and post-chiller carcass samples tested positive. However, these data were higher than those reported by the Europeans, who had an average poultry carcass contamination level of 75.8%, 21 and by Kuana et al, 8 who reported that 98.3% of 60 broiler carcasses were contaminated after chiller processing. In the present work, a significant difference was found between the Campy-Cefex and mCCDA plates used for cell recovery in the analysis of pre-chiller carcass samples, where Campy-Cefex had higher Campylobacter cell numbers ( Table 2 ).…”

“…Broiler carcasses contaminated with Campylobacter have been detected in many countries. A study conducted in Brazil 8 showed that 95 of the 96 broiler carcasses examined tested positive for Campylobacter at the end of the slaughter line. According to the World Health Organization, 9 reducing the prevalence or concentration at a specified point in the production chain has the potential to reduce the risk of human incidences if intervention is taken.…”