Campylobacteriosis is a significant enterocolitis of humans acquired through consumption of undercooked poultry meat contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni. This organism colonizes the intestine of chickens, turkeys, and waterfowl but is generally nonpathogenic in mature poultry. Some strains of C jejuni have been reported to cause enteritis and death in newly hatched chicks and poults; however, it has not been possible to satisfy Koch's postulates and reproduce the syndrome previously termed “avian vibrionic hepatitis” by administering isolates of C jejuni to chickens.

Commercial poultry and free-living birds are natural reservoirs of the thermophilic campylobacters (C jejuni, C coli, and C lari) and other poorly defined species. It is estimated that over half of all commercial broiler and turkey flocks harbor C jejuni. The organism has been isolated from numerous birds, including Columbae and domestic and free-living Galliformes and Anseriformes.

C jejuni has been demonstrated in all areas of commercial poultry production. Isolation of the organism is a function of surveillance and ability of laboratory personnel to culture and identify Campylobacter spp.

Etiology and Epidemiology

Campylobacter jejuni is the predominant species associated with foodborne infection derived from poultry. C coli and C lari can also be recovered from the intestinal tract of poultry and have also been implicated in foodborne infection.

Environmental contamination is probably the most common source of infection for poults, chicks, and ducklings. Litter can remain infective for long periods, subject to at least a 10% moisture level and neutral pH. Exposed chicks and poults become colonized and can continue to excrete C jejuni for their lifetimes. Contaminated water may introduce infection into poultry flocks, and nonchlorinated water derived from a dam, river, or shallow well should be regarded as a possible source. Rats, wild birds, and houseflies can infect flocks; equipment and footwear contaminated with feces from an infected source may also serve as a vehicle of transmission. Once C jejuni has been introduced into the environment, rapid transmission within the flock occurs, with subsequent colonization of a high proportion of exposed breeders, commercial-meat, or laying-strain poultry. Some strains of Campylobacter can be transmitted vertically, either on the surface of eggs or by transovarial transmission. It can be isolated from the reproductive tracts of hens and roosters.

Clinical Findings

Many chicks are colonized with Campylobacter spp early in life with no associated clinical signs or pathology. Highly pathogenic isolates derived from people with enterocolitis may induce some mortality in chicks.

Lesions

Gross lesions in challenged chicks may include distention of the jejunum, disseminated hemorrhagic enteritis, and in some cases, focal hepatic necrosis. Microscopic lesions include edema of the mucosa of the ileum and cecum with C jejuni in the brush border of enterocytes. Mononuclear infiltration of the submucosa and villous atrophy occur, with intraluminal accumulation of mucus, erythrocytes, and both mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cells. It is unclear whether these findings represent a true clinical syndrome in chicks because challenge studies frequently result in no lesions.

Diagnosis

Fecal specimens should be collected using swabs, then placed in Cary-Blair transport medium. Enrichment culture of specimens in semisolid motility medium facilitates isolation when small numbers of C jejuni are present. Campylobacter can be cultured on selective media containing Brucella agar base and bovine blood with up to 7 antibiotics that inhibit overgrowth of Enterobacteriaceae. They can be also cultured on blood agar by selective filtration; bacteria in a diluted fecal sample are allowed to penetrate a filter (0.45 µm pores) placed on the surface of a blood agar plate. Thermophilic Campylobacter spp should be cultured at 42°C under microaerophilic conditions (85% nitrogen, 10% carbon dioxide, and 5% oxygen) for 48 hr. Some strains require a hydrogen-enriched atmosphere (5%). Campylobacter spp of significance in poultry are oxidase- and catalase-positive, indole-negative, and reduce selenite. The thermophilic species may be characterized on the basis of hippurate hydrolysis; nalidixic acid sensitivity is no longer reliable due to the increasing prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant C jejuni. The Penner or Lior serotyping schemes can be used to classify C jejuni ribotyping, or pulsed-field gel analysis can distinguish among various C jejuni isolates.

Control and Prevention

Because C jejuni does not occur as a specific pathogen under commercial conditions, treatment of poultry flocks is not a consideration. If C jejuni is considered a problem in companion bird aviaries or in exotic species, antibiotics such as erythromycin can be administered in drinking water. Galliformes should receive a dosage of 10–30 mg/kg for 4 consecutive days, and Psittaciformes and exotics should be medicated at 30–40 mg/kg.

Preharvest prevention of Campylobacter infection in commercial species is based on strict biosecurity, decontamination of housing between successive flocks, exclusion of rodents and wild birds, and insect eradication. Chlorination of drinking water to 2 ppm and operation of farms on a strict “all-in/all-out” basis occasionally reduces the prevalence of infection. In the context of commercial production in the USA where earth-floored housing is used and litter is recycled, preharvest control of C jejuni is impractical. Innovative methods of prevention, such as competitive inhibition and the use of vaccines, are under intensive investigation. Withholding feed from broilers and turkeys for at least 12 hr before slaughter and thorough decontamination of transport coops and modules reduce fecal contamination and lower the level of C jejuni introduced into processing plants.

Zoonotic Risk

C jejuni is a major source of foodborne enteritis in consumers; contaminated, undercooked poultry is responsible for >50% of cases investigated. The condition was recognized in the mid-1970s, and the significance of the organism has become apparent with improved methods of isolation and identification. Nonchlorinated ground water, unpasteurized milk, young diarrheic pets, and contaminated beef and pork products are also responsible for infection of people.

Improved washing of carcasses, use of counter-flow scalding, elimination of immersion chillers, and reduction in manual handling by installation of advanced automated equipment can reduce C jejuni contamination. Chemical disinfectants, such as glutaraldehyde (0.125%) and succinic acid (3%), and organic compounds, such as lactic and acetic acids, may be used to destroy C jejuni.

Gamma irradiation at levels of 1–3 kGy effectively eliminates C jejuni from poultry carcasses and products. Irradiation using cobalt 60 and electron beam generation are cost-effective procedures, which are endorsed by a joint United Nations Committee of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the World Health Organization. However, irradiated foods are not widely available. Currently, the only measure to reduce the risk of C jejuni infection to consumers is thorough cooking of poultry to achieve a core temperature of 74°C for 1 min. This ensures destruction of C jejuni. Concurrent hygienic storage, handling, and preparation are necessary to prevent contamination of prepared foods, work surfaces, and utensils by raw poultry and other meats.

Last full review/revision March 2012 by Margie D. Lee, DVM, PhD