Global systematic review and meta-analysis on foodborne thermotole¬rant Campylobacter prevalence in different species of poultry birds and associated sources of contamination

Campylobacteriosis is one of the most prevalent foodborne bacterial diseases. Infected chickens and poultry products are a possible source of this illness in people all over the world. Therefore, the ob-jective of this current meta-analysis was to summarise the available data on the prevalence of thermo-tolerant Campylobacter species in poultry and their products. A systematic literature search was con-ducted to gather pertinent articles from 2000 to 2021, using globally recognised four electronic data-bases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus. The mean prevalence of cam-pylobacteriosis in poultry species and their products (meat, eggs, and offal) was 44% (95% CI: 39–50%) with the highest prevalence in Australia (67%). Among the European countries, France had the maximum prevalence rate of 76%, while Japan had recorded 61% as the peak among Asian countries. Prevalence rates of 43% and 56% were calculated in United States and Brazil representing the Ameri-can region. In the species-wise results, the mean prevalence rates of Campylobacter jejuni and Cam-pylobacter coli were 29% and 16%, correspondingly. In case of live birds, chickens and turkeys pos-sessed maximum prevalence rates of 47% and 40%, whereas 46% and 63% were recorded from poul-try meat and liver. Besides, categorising the difference sources of contamination, the maximum preva-lence rate of 62% was found in the poultry processing plants followed by 54% from supermarkets and 38% from farms. According to the current meta-analysis, Campylobacter jejuni was the most com-mon bacterium worldwide, and poultry meat – the most frequent source of human infection. The predominance of Campylobacter species is a threat for public health, and national authorities must undertake strategies to control this disease in each country with the goal of establishing adequate risk management measures.