title: Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in market-weight turkeys on-farm and at slaughter.
abstract: To monitor the effects of feed withdrawal on the prevalence of Campylobacter, market-weight turkeys from six farms were examined before and after perimarketing events (feed withdrawal, transport, and holding at the slaughterhouse). Prior to transport, birds (n = 30 per farm) were slaughtered on-farm, and viscera (crops, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, ceca, gallbladder, and spleen) were removed on the premises. Within ca. 48 h, cohorts (n = 30 per farm) from the same flock were transported to a commercial abattoir, maintained in holding sheds, slaughtered, and the viscera were removed. No differences in the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. were evident when individual flocks were compared pre- and posttransport. However, when data for the six farms were combined, Campylobacter spp. were recovered (pre- versus posttransport) at comparable rates from the duodenum (74.7 versus 74.7%), ileum (87.3 versus 92.7%), ceca (64 versus 57%), colon (86.7 versus 80%), and spleen (0 versus 0%). After feed withdrawal, transport, and holding at the abattoir, there was an overall increase in Campylobacter spp. isolated from the gallbladder at the abattoir (14.7%) when compared with on-farm levels (0%, P < 0.05). When compared with on-farm levels (3%), the overall increase in Campylobacter spp. recovered from the crops of birds at the abattoir (24%) was significant (P < 0.05), which may be associated with a detectable decline in lactic acid in the emptied crop.
authors.affiliation: Pre-Harvest Food Safety and Enteric Diseases Unit, National Animal Disease Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, Iowa 50010, USA. irene.wesley@ars.usda.gov
authors.forename: Irene V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Wesley
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rostagno
authors.forename: H Scott
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hurd
authors.forename: Darrell W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Trampel
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017000:Campylobacter coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003426:Crop, Avian / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000382:microbiology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D014186:Transportation; D014422:Turkeys / Q000382:microbiology*