Effect of Litter Treatment on Campylobacter jejuni in Broilers and on Cecal Microbiota.

Amandine Thépault,Marianne Chemaly,Florent Souchaud,Alassane Keita,Muriel Guyard-Nicodème,Bertrand Hyronimus,Xavier Roulleau,Laurent Cauquil,Typhaine Poezevara,Pauline Loiseau,Ségolène Quesne

doi:10.3390/pathogens9050333

Abstract

Since 2018, when a process hygiene criterion for Campylobacter in broilers at the slaughterhouse was implemented across Europe, efforts to reduce Campylobacter at farm level have increased. Despite numerous studies aiming to reduce Campylobacter colonization in broilers, no efficient control strategy has been identified so far. The present work assessed first the efficacy of a commercial litter treatment to reduce Campylobacter colonization in broilers during two in-vivo trials and second, its impact on cecal microbiota. The treatment does not affect broiler growth and no effect on Campylobacter counts was observed during the in-vivo trials. Nevertheless, cecal microbiota were affected by the treatment. Alpha and beta diversity were significantly different for the control and litter-treated groups on day 35. In addition, several taxa were identified as significantly associated with the different experimental groups. Further work is needed to find a suitable control measure combining different strategies in order to reduce Campylobacter.

Highlights

Campylobacteriosis has been the most frequently reported zoonotic disease every year since2005 [1], representing an annual cost of 2.4 billion euros in the European Union [2]
Two independent trials were carried out to test the effect of the litter treatment on cecal colonization by Campylobacter after an artificial challenge
A control group reared on a non-treated litter was compared with a group reared on the treated litter; the treatment was the same in both trials, but the method used for the Campylobacter challenge was different

Summary

Introduction

2005 [1], representing an annual cost of 2.4 billion euros in the European Union [2]. Poultry constitutes both the main reservoir for this bacterium and the principal source of human contamination. In France, for example, a mean number of 4608 campylobacteriosis cases were reported annually by the National Reference Center between 2008 and 2013, but it was estimated that the multiplication factor between cases ascertained by the surveillance system and cases in the community was. The high community incidence of this disease leads to a high human and economic cost. The prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler flocks is generally high in several European Union Member States, with more than 70% of broiler batches being contaminated; Pathogens 2020, 9, 333; doi:10.3390/pathogens9050333 www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens

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Methods

Conclusion