title: Darkling beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) and their larvae as potential vectors for the transfer of Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella enterica serovar paratyphi B variant Java between successive broiler flocks.
abstract: Broiler flocks often become infected with Campylobacter and Salmonella, and the exact contamination routes are still not fully understood. Insects like darkling beetles and their larvae may play a role in transfer of the pathogens between consecutive cycles. In this study, several groups of beetles and their larvae were artificially contaminated with a mixture of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi B Variant Java and three C. jejuni strains and kept for different time intervals before they were fed to individually housed chicks. Most inoculated insects were positive for Salmonella and Campylobacter just before they were fed to the chicks. However, Campylobacter could not be isolated from insects that were kept for 1 week before they were used to mimic an empty week between rearing cycles. All broilers fed insects that were inoculated with pathogens on the day of feeding showed colonization with Campylobacter and Salmonella at levels of 50 to 100%. Transfer of both pathogens by groups of insects that were kept for 1 week before feeding to the chicks was also observed, but at lower levels. Naturally contaminated insects that were collected at a commercial broiler farm colonized broilers at low levels as well. In conclusion, the fact that Salmonella and Campylobacter can be transmitted via beetles and their larvae to flocks in successive rearing cycles indicates that there should be intensive control programs for exclusion of these insects from broiler houses.
authors.affiliation: Agrotechnology & Food Science, Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands. wilma.hazeleger@wur.nl
authors.forename: Wilma C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hazeleger
authors.forename: Nico M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Bolder
authors.forename: Rijkelt R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Beumer
authors.forename: Wilma F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Jacobs-Reitsma
mesh_terms: D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000254:growth & development*; D002645:Chickens; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology*; D010284:Paratyphoid Fever / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012484:Salmonella paratyphi B / Q000254:growth & development*
references.citation: Poult Sci. 1991 Apr;70(4):790-5
references.pmid: 1876560
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Dec;72(12):7909-11
references.pmid: 17012593
references.citation: Avian Dis. 2004 Jan-Mar;48(1):138-47
references.pmid: 15077807
references.citation: J Food Prot. 2006 Aug;69(8):2007-10
references.pmid: 16924933
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2002 Apr;44(2):351-9
references.pmid: 11972775
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Mar;67(3):1185-9
references.pmid: 11229909
references.citation: J Med Entomol. 1996 Nov;33(6):983-7
references.pmid: 8961651
references.citation: J Med Entomol. 2000 May;37(3):480-3
references.pmid: 15535597
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2003 Feb;5(2):79-84
references.pmid: 12558590
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1988 Oct;54(10):2365-70
references.pmid: 3060015
references.citation: Vet Rec. 1985 Apr 6;116(14):361-4
references.pmid: 3992853
references.citation: Epidemiol Infect. 1995 Jun;114(3):413-21
references.pmid: 7781729
references.citation: Med Vet Entomol. 2004 Sep;18(3):241-6
references.pmid: 15347391
references.citation: J Appl Microbiol. 2003;94(2):340-8
references.pmid: 12534827
references.citation: J Appl Microbiol. 2007 Sep;103(3):640-9
references.pmid: 17714397
references.citation: Avian Dis. 1998 Oct-Dec;42(4):732-7
references.pmid: 9876841
references.citation: J Hyg (Lond). 1983 Oct;91(2):223-6
references.pmid: 6644008
references.citation: Vet Q. 1994 Dec;16(4):206-8
references.pmid: 7740745
references.citation: Avian Dis. 2004 Jan-Mar;48(1):9-18
references.pmid: 15077793
references.citation: J Food Prot. 2000 Jul;63(7):958-60
references.pmid: 10914668
references.citation: Prev Vet Med. 2001 Jul 19;50(1-2):89-100
references.pmid: 11448497
references.citation: Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Aug;10(8):1490-2
references.pmid: 15496257
references.citation: Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1266-75
references.pmid: 16670032
references.citation: Parasitol Res. 2007 Jun;101(1):243-6
references.pmid: 17370089
references.citation: J Vector Ecol. 2002 Jun;27(1):82-5
references.pmid: 12125877
references.citation: J Econ Entomol. 2003 Feb;96(1):126-30
references.pmid: 12650354
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 Feb;45(2):381-3
references.pmid: 6830213
references.citation: J Econ Entomol. 2007 Aug;100(4):1423-7
references.pmid: 17849897
references.citation: Epidemiol Infect. 1996 Aug;117(1):213-5
references.pmid: 8760971
references.citation: Microbiology (Reading). 2001 Oct;147(Pt 10):2729-2737
references.pmid: 11577152
references.citation: J Med Entomol. 2005 Jan;42(1):42-7
references.pmid: 15691007
references.citation: Int Immunopharmacol. 2006 Feb;6(2):234-40
references.pmid: 16399628