Presence of thermophilic Campylobacter species in Broilers and pigs at certain abattoirs in Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Examinations were carried out during the period from January 2006 until March 2007 on a total of 449 samples of the cecum of broilers and the cecum and the colon of pigs. These samples included 251 samples originating from broilers and 198 samples of pig cecums and colons. All the listed samples were obtained by scraping the surface of these parts of the digestive system of broilers and pigs. At the site of sampling, the diluted material was sown on a medium (Karmali agar), in order to get individual colonies. After sowing, the bases were placed in anaerobic jars in which microaerophilic conditions were achieved using Campy Pak, BBL bags. On arrival at the laboratory, the jars containing the sown bases were placed in a thermostat, at a temperature of 42oC for 48 hours for the purpose of incubation. Following incubation, the grown colonies were examined macroscopically, and then microscopic preparations were made from them, which were stained with 2% carbol fuchsin after drying and fixation. Those isolates which were in the form of a comma, the letter S, or gull's wings in the microscopic preparations were considered Campylobacter species (Figures 1 and 2). The isolated thermophilic campylobacteria were identified using conventional and commercial biochemical tests API Campy, manufactured by Bio Mérieux, France. With the application of these microbiological methods, thermophilic Campylobacter species were isolated from 203 (80.88%) of the 251 samples of broiler cecums. Furthermore, thermophilic campylobacteria were isolated from 153 (77.27%) of the 198 samples from the cecum and colon of pigs taken within these investigations. The obtained results indicate that there is a somewhat greater prevalence of these bacteria among the broilers. However, such a high percentage of both broilers and pigs colonized by thermophilic Campylobacter species could pose a serious problem, in particular when it is known that infections of humans caused by the consumption of insufficiently thermally processed meat of broilers or pigs are not infrequent.

Ispitivanjima obavljenim u periodu od januara 2006. godine do marta 2007. godine ukupno je pregledano 449 uzoraka cekuma brojlera i cekuma i kolona svinja. Od navedenog broja 251 uzorak je poticao od brojlera, a 198 uzoraka iz cekuma i kolona svinja. Svi navedeni uzorci dobijeni su struganjem površine navedenih delova digestivnog sistema brojlera i svinja. Materijal je na mestu uzorkovanja zasejavan sa razređenjem na podlogu (Karmali agar), radi dobijanja pojedinačnih kolonija. Nakon zasejavanja podloge su odlagane u lonce za anaerobe, u kojima su mikroaerofilni uslovi postignuti primenom Campy Pak, BBL kesica. Lonci sa zasejanim podlogama po dopremanju u laboratoriju stavljani su u termostat na temperaturu od 42oC tokom 48 časova radi inkubiranja. Nakon inkubacije izrasle kolonije su pregledane makroskopski, a zatim su od njih pripremani mikroskopski preparati koji su nakon sušenja i fiksiranja bojeni 2% karbol fuksinom. Oni izolati koji su na mikroskopskim preparatima imali oblik zareza, latinskog slova S ili galebovih krila smatrani su Campylobacter vrstama (slika 1 i 2). Identifikacija izolovanih termofilnih kampilobakterija vršena je primenom klasičnih i komercijalnih biohemijskih testova API Campy, proizvođača Bio Mérieux, Francuska. Primenom navedenih mikrobioloških metoda od 251. uzorka iz cekuma brojlera iz 203 (80,88%) izolovane su termofilne Campylobacter vrste. Takođe, od 198 uzoraka iz cekuma i kolona svinja koji su bili obuhvaćeni ispitivanjem termofilne kampilobakterije su izolovane iz 153 (77,27%). Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na nešto veću prevalenciju ovih bakterija kod brojlera. Međutim, ovako visok procenat kolonizovanih, kako brojlera, tako i svinja termofilnim Campylobacter vrstama može predstavljati ozbiljan problem, posebno ako se zna da infekcije ljudi izazvane konzumiranjem nedovoljno termički obrađenog mesa brojlera i svinja nisu tako retke.