CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI IN SLAUGHTERED CHICKENS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF FOOD HYGIENE

A total of 440 slaughtered chickens coming from 27 farms were examined for presence of Campylobacter jejuni between 1st Feb. 1990 and 31st Jan. 1991. The relevant specimens were taken from the outer and inner carcass surfaces, ileum contents, liver parenchyma and bile from groups of 10 birds each week. Isolation attempts yielded 366 C. jejuni strains. Of the 38 and 47 (10.3 % and 12.8 % were isolated from the outer and inner carcass surfaces, respectively, 121 (35 %) from ileum contents, 92 (25 %) from liver parenchyma and 68 (18.6 %) from bile. The proportions of contaminated chicken carcasses showed two peaks, reaching 62.5 % and 62 % in May and October, respectively. An almost parallel trend vas recorded for the isolations from ileum contents and liver parenchyma where the highest number of strains (45 % and 30 % respectively) coincided with the May peak, whereas the highest proportions of isolations from bile (30 %) coincided rather with the second peak. The proportions of C. jejuni isolated from the outer and inner carcass surfaces were relatively low, averaging 9.4 % and 11.4 % respectively, and did not show much fluctuation. The proportions of C. jejuni isolated from bile averaged 13.8 In 82 (22.4 %) C. jejuni strains solitary colonies were observed also after control aerobic incubation at 42-degrees-C, but attempts at their further passage under these conditions yielded negative results. C. jejuni carriers and shedders as well as the incidence of asymptomatic C. jejuni infection among chickens do not urge either the farmer or the veterinarian to take any measures, but the consumption of C. jejuni- infected chicken meat constitutes a major health hazard for man.