The Transmission of Campylobacteriosis in the Poultry Supply Chain

The main reservoir of Campylobacter is primarily the intestinal tract of birds but other endothermic animals such as livestock and pets may also harbour the bacterium. The onset of Campylobacteriosis is most often associated with chicken and less frequently with turkey, pork, beef and seafood. The infection of the human host is generally caused by the consumption of undercooked and mishandled poultry or by cross-contamination of cooking utensils and fresh vegetables. [1]

Two reports which examined foodborne diseases throughout the 28 member states and 4 non-member states within the European Union during the years 2012 [2] and 2013 [2] found that the majority of confirmed cases of foodborne bacterial diseases were Campylobacteriosis.  The proportion of people suffering from Campylobacteriosis has remained stable over progressive years whereas Salmonellosis has decreased and Listeriosis which affects fewer people has been increasing due to the availability of freshly packed produce.  Based on the numbers provided by the EFSA [3] and the FSA [2], it is possible to determine that 1.8% and 3.8% of the population were affected yearly by Campylobacter in Europe and in the UK, respectively. It is uncertain whether the incidence of Campylobacteriosis is higher in the UK compared with other countries within the European Union or whether it is within the bounds of error. The origin of this disease can be directly linked to consumption of chicken meat in 20-30% of the cases while an indeterminate number of cases may be caused by cross contamination of other foods after handling poultry. [2]

In the UK, the prevalence of Campylobacteriosis cases has remained relatively stable over the past twenty years although there have been dramatic fluctuations from the norm in some years. [3]  A baseline survey, conducted in 28 European countries in 2010, indicated that 71.2% of broiler batches and 75.8% of broiler carcasses were contaminated by Campylobacter. This data was reinforced by an in-depth analysis over a 3-year period at the UK-wide level showing that in over 37 abattoirs (representing almost 90% of the total UK slaughter throughput), 79.2% of the slaughter batches were positive for Campylobacter. [2]  In addition, 87.3% of the broiler carcasses were contaminated by Campylobacter with 27.3% of them showing a load over 1000 cfu g−1 (Powell et al., 2012). In the USA, an extensive survey was performed in which 168 pathogen-food combinations of 14 major pathogens across 12 food categories were compared. 

 

  1. Guyard-Nicodeme M., Tresse O., Houard E., Jugiau F., Courtillon C., El Manaa K., et al. (2013).Characterization of Campylobacter spp. transferred from naturally contaminated chicken legs to cooked chicken slices via a cutting board. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 164, 7–14.
  2. Batz M. B., Hoffmann S., Morris J. G. (2012). Ranking the disease burden of 14 pathogens in food sources in the United States using attribution data from outbreak investigations and expert elicitation.
  3. Lawes J. R., Vidal A., Clifton-Hadley F. A., Sayers R., Rodgers J., Snow L., et al. (2012).Investigation of prevalence and risk factors for Campylobacter in broiler flocks at slaughter: results from a UK survey. Epidemiol. Infect. 140, 1725–1737.