Abstract
An in-depth analysis was performed on Swedish broiler producers that had delivered chickens with Campylobacter to slaughter over several years, in order to identify possible transmission routes and formulate effective measures to prevent chickens being colonized with Campylobacter. Between 2017 and 2019, 626 samples were collected at farm level and Campylobacter was isolated from 133 (21.2%). All C. jejuni and C. coli isolated from these samples were whole-genome sequenced, together with isolates from the corresponding cecum samples at slaughter (n = 256). Core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) analysis, using schemes consisting of 1140 and 529 genes for C. jejuni and C. coli, respectively, revealed that nearby cattle, contaminated drinking water, water ponds, transport crates, and parent flocks were potential reservoirs of Campylobacter. A novel feature compared with previous studies is that measures were implemented and tested during the work. These contributed to a nationwide decrease in Campylobacter-positive flocks from 15.4% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2019, which is the lowest ever rate in Sweden. To conclude, there are different sources and routes of Campylobacter transmission to chickens from different broiler producers, and individual measures must be taken by each producer to prevent Campylobacter colonization of chickens.
Highlights
Campylobacter spp. is the most reported bacterial cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans in Sweden, and in other countries [1,2]
All isolates were identified to species level using MALDI-TOF MS and C. jejuni was found to be the most commonly isolated species, followed by C. coli, C. lari, and C. lanienae (Table 1)
The results obtained in this study indicate that the greatest challenge in preventing colonization of broiler chickens by Campylobacter is that there are different reservoirs and transmission routes for chicken colonization within and between different producers
Summary
Campylobacter spp. is the most reported bacterial cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans in Sweden, and in other countries [1,2]. In Sweden, a total of 8132 campylobacteriosis cases were reported in 2018, corresponding to an incidence of 80 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, of which 45% were domestically acquired [3]. In the European Union (EU), 246,571 human cases were reported in 2018, corresponding to an incidence of 64 cases per 100,000 inhabitants [1]. The number of cases can be assumed to be significantly underreported [4]. For Sweden, a multiplier of 9.05 is suggested, which would mean that the actual number of people affected by campylobacteriosis during 2018 was. Campylobacter spp. do not multiply in food, but multiplication is not required to cause disease, as the infective dose
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