ISOLATION OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI FROM VISCERA AND BILE SECRETION OF BROILER-CHICKENS WITH DIARRHEA

Since chickens are important reservoirs of Campylobacter jejuni and th eir meat is the most frequent route of transmission for human campylob acteriosis, the purpouse of the present study was to investigate the p resence of Campylobacter in viscera of chickens with diarrhea, evaluat ing the frequency of isolation of this microorganism from organs consi dered to be preferential for its isolation. A total of 107 visceral sa mples from chickens with diarrhea from different farms in the Ribeirao Preto region, SP, were examined for the presence of Campylobacter jej uni. The material consisted of 73 livers and 34 spleens, plus 29 bile secretion samples. The frequency of Campylobacter jejuni isolation was 54.79% for the liver samples, 35,29% for the spleens and 6,89% for th e bile secretion samples. The data suggest that, under the conditions of the present study, the liver may be the organ of choice for the iso lation of Campylobacter in the presence of diarrhea and liver involvem ent in chickens.