Nj. Stern et al., Distribution of Campylobacter spp. in selected US poultry production and processing operations, J FOOD PROT, 64(11), 2001, pp. 1705-1710
A study was conducted of 32 broiler flocks on eight different farms, belong
ing to four major U.S. producers. The farms were studied over I complete ca
lendar year. Overall, 28 (87.5%) of the flocks became Campylobacter positiv
e, and only four (12.5%) remained negative throughout the 6- to 8-week rear
ing period. In the majority of flocks, sampled every 2 weeks throughout pro
duction, Campylobacter-positive fecal and cecal samples were not detected u
ntil 4 to 8 weeks of age. In only six of the flocks were environmental samp
les found to be positive before shedding of Campylobacter was detected in t
he birds. Even in some of the Campylobacter-negative flocks, contamination
of the rearing environment was positive for Campylobacter but did not resul
t in the birds subsequently excreting the organism. These findings are disc
ussed in relation to U.S. husbandry practices and present uncertainty about
sources of Campylobacter infection for poultry flocks. Birds were often tr
ansported to the processing plant in coops that were already contaminated w
ith Campylobacter, and the organisms were sometimes found in samples of sca
ld water and chill water. After chilling, the proportions of Campylobacter-
positive carcasses from different producers ranged from 21.0 to 40.9%, whic
h is lower than in other studies, and possible reasons are considered.