Campylobacter Jejuni In Broiler Chickens In Selangor, Malaysia

• Main Author: Abdul Aziz, Saleha
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 1997
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/12325/1/FPV_1997_4_A.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/12325/
• Institution: Universiti Putra Malaysia

In realising the importance of the poultry industry in Malaysia and the public health implication of C.jejuni in man, a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence, antibiotic resistance and plasmid profiles of C.jejuni isolated from chickens and to identify factors associated with the risk of colonization or infection by the organisms in chickens. It was shown in this study that 72.6 % and 81.9 % of the commercial broiler and village chickens respectively were colonized with C.jejuni. Of the seventy six C.jejuni strains tested, all ( 100 %) were found to be resistant to tetracycline while resistance to other antibiotics, namely ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin , kanamycin and streptomycin , ranged from 25 - 75 % . This study also showed a rather large number, that is, 42 % of C. jejuni isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid although a distinguishing feature of this species is its susceptibility to nalidixic acid . It was found that there was no correlation between the presence of plasmid and resistance to antibiotics. This is because in some isolates which showed antibiotic resistance, no plasmid was detected . An analysis of the plasmid profiles of seventy one C.jejuni isolates , 59 % harboured 1-4 plasmids, demonstrating 14 different patterns with the sizes ranging from 4.5 to 70. 3 kb . This study also demonstrated that colonization of chickens with C.jejuni occurred at two to three weeks of age. The study could not identify clearly the factors which acted as the sources of C.jejuni in chickens. However, colonization is found to be associated with poor farm management and hygienic practices. Farms which practise good management and hygienic procedures tend to have low rate of colonization by C.jejuni . Such practices include the use of treated water, control of pests and flying birds from entering poultry houses and restriction in the movement of personnel . This is the first time that a detailed study on Campylobacter in chickens was conducted, particularly on factors associated with colonization by C. jejuni. It can be concluded from this study that C. jenuni is prevalent and widespread in chicken populations in Malaysia. During slaughtering of these chickens and during processing, poultry carcasses and offals may become contaminated with C. jejuni. Consequently if such poultry meat and offals are undercooked or caused cross contamination of ready-to-eat food, then upon consumption of such foods causes Campylobacter enteritis in man . Hence, it is recommended that farmer s and poultry processing plant operators be made aware of the importance of campylobacters to human health and to implement appropriate measures to control the infection in poultry.