Quantification of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in broilers during meat processing

Campylobacter spp. is a common cause of gastrointestinal illness. Since animal products, especially poultry meat, are an important source of human outbreaks of campylobacteriosis, tracing back to processing and initial production is of great interest. Samples were collected at a German poultry slaughterhouse for the estimation of the prevalence of Campylobacter at different processing steps. Quantification of Campylobacter in each of the samples was also performed. Out of 99 samples examined, 51 (51.5%) were positive for Campylobacter, with bacterial counts ranging from log(10) 6.5 cfu sample-1 for carcasses to log 3.6 cfu ml-1 for scalding water. The Campylobacter isolates (n = 51) were subtyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using SmaI and KpnI restriction enzymes. Molecular typing showed a multitude of strains with different molecular patterns. Strains found in cloacal swabs before processing could also be isolated from carcasses at different processing steps.