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Transmission of Campylobacter to humans has been prominently associated with mishandling or improperly preparing contaminated poultry carcasses. The number of organisms per carcass represents an important measure of human exposure to the agent. Therefore, we wished to estimate this public exposure over 1 yr among Italian broiler carcasses. We sampled 213 broiler carcasses from rinse water samples collected from a single slaughterhouse. Groups of carcasses had mean processed weights ranging from 1.2 to 2.7 kg. These were produced from 22 commercial broiler chicken flocks collected from 12 different farms, 3 of which were seasonally tested. Carcasses were rinsed with sterile water, and the rinse suspension was then serially diluted and spread-plated directly onto Campy-Cefex agar plates. One to 5 typical Campylobacter colonies per plate were identified by polymerase chain reaction as Campylobacter thermo-tolerant species. The overall estimated mean count per carcass in our study was 5.16 ± 0.80 log10 cfu. This value increased in summer and autumn, as well as on carcasses collected from farms located > 100 km far from the slaughterhouse. A total of 678 Campylobacter colonies were identified by polymerase chain reaction. The majority of isolates were classified as Campylobacter jejuni (49.2%) or Campylobacter coli (47.5%). The overall number of C. jejuni was significantly higher on 1) carcasses weighing > 2 kg, 2) carcasses belonging to flocks with > 10,000 birds, and 3) carcasses collected from farms located > 100 km from the slaughterhouse. Moreover, among farms tested seasonally, C. jejuni was significantly greater than C. coli in winter. These data provide the first results of a continuing survey on Campylobacter loads and species identification from Italian broiler carcasses and represents an important baseline to estimate the human exposure to Campylobacter in Italy.

The main aim of this study was to trace Campylobacter subtypes colonizing Italian broilers and carcasses in and between flocks. Overall, 209 Campylobacter isolates were collected from ceca (n = 94) and carcasses (n = 115) of broilers belonging to 3 different flocks reared in the same farm during subsequent rotations and processed in the same slaughterhouse. All isolates were identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction and genotyped by amplified fragment length polymorphism. Furthermore, 166 out of 209 strains were phenotyped by antimicrobial resistance profile (R-type). The results of genetic and phenotypic characterization showed that (1) multiple Campylobacter species and subtypes can colonize the same broiler and carcass; (2) common Campylobacter subtypes in ceca and carcasses seem to be rare; and (3) carryover of Campylobacter subtypes between broiler flocks in the same house rarely occurs. The outcomes of this study should be taken into account for setting of isolate collection during epidemiological investigations to check sources and transmission routs of Campylobacter in broilers and poultry products.

The Campylobacter detection is performed by conventional culture methods and the identification of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli is principally based on the hippurate hydrolysis test. The two major drawbacks of this biochemical test for species identification include the inconsistency of the results and the presence of atypical strains, which can lead to the misidentification of an isolate. As an alternative, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) protocols for the simultaneous detection and identification of different Campylobacter species have been developed. This study examined the performances of an experimental BAX® System assay for the C. jejuni and C. coli identification in comparison to a multiplex PCR protocol recently published. The samples tested were represented by 106 environmental swabs collected on Teflon strips and tables, stainless steel saws, hooks and trays, ceramic floors and walls, as well as equipment surfaces, located in a swine (N=50) and a poultry (N=56) slaughterhouse. The highest Campylobacter detection rate was obtained after 48 h of enrichment by using both the PCR procedures. After 24 h, the BAX® System provides a more rapid and accurate Campylobacter detection and identification assay than the multiplex PCR. Except for two samples, all the broths where Campylobacter cells were detected after 24 or 48 h of enrichment, with at least one of the PCR protocols, gave Campylobacter colonies using the culture method. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In this study the potential for using the automated PstI ribotyping as a primary library typing method to survey Campylobacter and for identification of two thermophilic Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli species was evaluated. A total of 158 isolates randomly collected in Italy from different sources were analyzed. A large percentage of chicken (28%), turkey (27%) and turkey meat (25%) isolates shared their ribotyping profiles (ribotypes) with those of humans, whereas the swine isolates had unique profiles. The identification results obtained by ribotyping corresponded to those collected by using a multiplex PCR protocol specifically designed for C. jejuni and C. coli detection. The comparison of the PstI ribotyping profiles obtained in this research with those of the isolates collected over time will facilitate determining the ribotypes that are more frequently transmitted to humans in comparison to those that are normally harboured only in animals, foods and in the environment. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and ribotypes of Clostridium perfringens in broiler flocks reared in 2 European countries that apply European Union Regulation 1831/2003. A total of 1,532 cecum contents were collected between June 2005 and November 2006 from birds belonging to 51 intensively reared flocks produced in the Czech Republic and 41 intensive production, organic, and free-range flocks reared in Italy. Clostridium perfringens was detected in 64.7 and 82.9% of the Czech Republic and Italian flocks, respectively, at mean loads ranging between 3.65 and 4.77 log10 cfu per gram of cecum content. More than 1 ribotype was identified among isolates belonging to the same flock in 57.1 and 76.5% of the Czech Republic and Italian flocks, respectively. Moreover, common ribotypes were identified between strains belonging to 2 up to 8 different flocks. In particular, 4 ribotypes were shared between strains isolated in the 2 European countries. The results of this study report on C. perfringens occurrence and mean populations in broilers reared on diets devoid of antibiotic growth promoters. Moreover, these findings show for the first time the presence of common ribotyping profiles among isolates collected from birds reared more than 1,000 km apart.