AUTHOR=Zhang Xiaoyan , Tang Mengjun , Zhou Qian , Zhang Jing , Yang Xingxing , Gao Yushi 

TITLE=Prevalence and Characteristics of Campylobacter Throughout the Slaughter Process of Different Broiler Batches

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02092

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2018.02092

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Handling and consumption of chicken meat are risk factors for human campylobacteriosis. This study was performed to describe the <italic>Campylobacter</italic> population in broiler carcasses and environmental samples throughout the slaughter process. Moreover, the genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of the <italic>Campylobacter</italic> strains were evaluated. Cloacal swabs, samples from carcasses at different stages, and environmental samples were collected thrice from the different flocks at the same abattoir located in Central Jiangsu, China. <italic>Campylobacter</italic> isolated from the three batches (<italic>n</italic> = 348) were identified as <italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 117) and <italic>Campylobacter coli</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 151) by multiplex PCR. Characterization by multilocus sequence typing revealed a specific genotype of <italic>Campylobacter</italic> for each batch. Antimicrobial sensitivity to 18 antibiotics were analyzed for all selected strains according to the agar diffusion method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Antibiotic susceptibility tests indicated that the majority of the tested isolates were resistant to quinolones (&gt;89.7%). Less resistance to macrolide (59.8%), gentamicin (42.7%), amikacin (36.8%) was observed. Results showed that 94.0% of the tested strains demonstrated multidrug resistance.</p>