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Routes for Campylobacter contamination of poultry meat: epidemiological study from hatchery to slaughterhouse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2003

L. HERMAN
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Centre, Department of Animal Product Quality, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium
M. HEYNDRICKX
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Centre, Department of Animal Product Quality, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium
K. GRIJSPEERDT
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Centre, Department of Animal Product Quality, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium
D. VANDEKERCHOVE
Affiliation:
Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Groeselenberg 99, 1180 Brussels, Belgium
I. ROLLIER
Affiliation:
European Commission, Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection, Wetstraat 200, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
L. De ZUTTER
Affiliation:
University of Ghent, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
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Abstract

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From April 1998 to March 2000, 18 broiler flocks were followed from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse. Campylobacter was not found in the hatchery, 1-day-old chicks or in the rearing house before the arrival of the chicks. The infection of broiler flocks increased continuously during the rearing time, with a total of seven positive flocks at the end of rearing. Farms with Campylobacter-positive broilers were characterized by the circulation of Campylobacter in the environment (puddles, dung hill) and on the footwear of the farmer. The administration of antibiotics did not significantly reduce Campylobacter shedding. With the exception of one flock during rearing and a few flocks in the slaughterhouse with a mixed Campylobacter coliCampylobacter jejuni infection, C. jejuni exclusively was found both during rearing and on the carcasses. A significant correlation exits between the contamination of the broilers during rearing and the carcasses after processing. No slaughterhouse was able to avoid contamination of carcasses when status-positive animals were delivered. Moreover, six negatively delivered flocks yielded positive carcasses, the result of a supplementary contamination, which occurred during transport and slaughtering.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press