Abstract

Consumption and handling of chicken meat are well-known risk factors for acquiring campylobacteriosis. This study aimed to describe the Campylobacter jejuni population in Finnish chickens and to investigate the distribution of C. jejuni genotypes on Finnish chicken farms over a period of several years. We included 89.8% of the total C. jejuni population recovered in Finnish poultry during 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012 and used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to characterize the 380 isolates. The typing data was combined with isolate information on collection-time and farm of origin. The C. jejuni prevalence in chicken slaughter batches was low (mean 3.0%, CI95% [1.8%, 4.2%]), and approximately a quarter of Finnish chicken farms delivered at least one positive chicken batch yearly. In general, the C. jejuni population was diverse as represented by a total of 63 sequence types (ST), but certain predominant MLST lineages were identified. ST-45 clonal complex (CC) accounted for 53% of the isolates while ST-21 CC and ST-677 CC covered 11% and 9% of the isolates, respectively. Less than half of the Campylobacter positive farms (40.3%) delivered C. jejuni-contaminated batches in multiple years, but the genotypes (ST and PFGE types) generally varied from year to year. Therefore, no evidence for a persistent C. jejuni source for the colonization of Finnish chickens emerged. Finnish chicken farms are infrequently contaminated with C. jejuni compared to other European Union (EU) countries, making Finland a valuable model for further epidemiological studies of the C. jejuni in poultry flocks.

Highlights

  • Campylobacter spp. is the most common causative agent for bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, including Finland [1,2]

  • We found that each year approximately a quarter of Finnish chicken farms delivered C. jejuni-colonized batches to slaughter and over half (59.6%) of the 114 farms from which C. jejuni-positive batches were obtained delivered positive batches in only one of the study years

  • Even though the C. jejuni population in Finnish chickens was diverse as assessed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing, the composition of it was relatively stable within the study-period due to the predominance of certain MLST types

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Summary

Introduction

Campylobacter spp. is the most common causative agent for bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, including Finland [1,2]. In 1999, campylobacteriosis surpassed the number of salmonellosis cases, and has since been the nation’s most important bacterial zoonosis with 4064 registered Finnish cases in 2013 [3,4]. The majority of cases (95%) are caused by Campylobacter jejuni, which upon ingestion normally results in a self-limiting gastroenteritis, and the number of cases peaks during the summer months of July and August [5].

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