Abstract
BackgroundCampylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported zoonosis in the EU and the epidemiology of sporadic campylobacteriosis, especially the routes of transmission, is to a great extent unclear. Poultry easily become colonised with Campylobacter spp., being symptom-less intestinal carriers. Earlier it was estimated that internationally between 50% and 80% of the cases could be attributed to chicken as a reservoir. In a Norwegian surveillance programme all broiler flocks under 50 days of age were tested for Campylobacter spp. The aim of the current study was to identify simultaneous local space-time clusters each year from 2002 to 2007 for human cases of campylobacteriosis and for broiler flocks testing positive for Campylobacter spp. using a multivariate spatial scan statistic method. A cluster occurring simultaneously in humans and broilers could indicate the presence of common factors associated with the dissemination of Campylobacter spp. for both humans and broilers.ResultsLocal space-time clusters of humans and broilers positive for Campylobacter spp. occurring simultaneously were identified in all investigated years. All clusters but one were identified from May to August. Some municipalities were included in clusters all years.ConclusionsThe simultaneous occurrence of clusters of humans and broilers positive for Campylobacter spp. combined with the knowledge that poultry meat has a nation-wide distribution indicates that campylobacteriosis cases might also be caused by other risk factors than consumption and handling of poultry meat.Broiler farms that are positive could contaminate the environment with further spread to new broiler farms or to humans living in the area and local environmental factors, such as climate, might influence the spread of Campylobacter spp. in an area. Further studies to clarify the role of such factors are needed.
Highlights
Campylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported zoonosis in the EU and the epidemiology of sporadic campylobacteriosis, especially the routes of transmission, is to a great extent unclear
The current results suggest that space-time clusters of Campylobacter spp. in man and in broiler simultaneously occur in all of the investigated years
It has been suggested that the incidence of human campylobacteriosis was higher in populations living in rural and agricultural areas, with the highest rates occurring in populations living in proximity to high densities of farm animals [27,28] and in a recent EFSA opinion on the quantification of the risk posed by broiler meat to human campylobacteriosis, it was stated that broiler meat might account for 20% to 30% of human campylobacteriosis, while chicken as a reservoir might account for 50% to 80%, for instance by strains from chicken contaminating drinking water, crop land or lakes [6]
Summary
Campylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported zoonosis in the EU and the epidemiology of sporadic campylobacteriosis, especially the routes of transmission, is to a great extent unclear. In a Norwegian surveillance programme all broiler flocks under 50 days of age were tested for Campylobacter spp. The aim of the current study was to identify simultaneous local space-time clusters each year from 2002 to 2007 for human cases of campylobacteriosis and for broiler flocks testing positive for Campylobacter spp. using a multivariate spatial scan statistic method. In the surveillance programme during the period 20012007, each flock was tested for Campylobacter spp. in caecal droppings 4-8 days before slaughter and again at slaughter at the abattoir as described elsewhere [15,18] In this period the annual incidence of Norwegian broiler flocks that tested positive for Campylobacter spp. varied between 3.3% (2004) and 6.3% (2002) with considerable differences between seasons and regions
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