Molecular Detection of Campylobacter spp in Day-Old Chick Demonstrate Vertical Transmission in Poultry Production
[1]
Clara Marin, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Animal Production, Animal Health and Science and Food Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain.
[2]
David S. Peñaranda, Reproduction Biotechnology Laboratory, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
[3]
Sofia Ingresa-Capaccioni, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Animal Production, Animal Health and Science and Food Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain.
[4]
Santiago Vega, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Animal Production, Animal Health and Science and Food Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain.
[5]
Francisco Marco-Jiménez, Reproduction Biotechnology Laboratory, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Campylobacteriosis is the most common cause of foodborne gastrointestinal illness in the industrialized world, and poultry is considered the main source. While horizontal transmission is a route clearly linked to the spread of Campylobacter at farm level, few studies support the notion of vertical transmission. Currently, epidemiological research indicates that newly hatched chicks appear to be free of Campylobacter. Thus, we carried out the present study to investigate the occurrence of Campylobacter in day-old chicks using molecular methods to examine vertical transmission in poultry production. A total of 12 broiler flocks were monitored from the time of housing day-old chicks (day 1) and at the end of the rearing period (day 42). Samples were culture according with official method ISO 10272:2006 and analyzed using reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR method. Our results revealed that no evidence of Campylobacter was found in the day-old chicks by bacterial culture method. Nevertheless, 4 flocks out of 12 were found to be positive by the molecular method. Real-time PCR identification revealed that C. coli was detected in all 4 flocks, while C. jejuni was identified in 3 flocks. No presence of Campylobacter spp. was observed in the environmental samples. These results reflect the evidence for vertical transmission of Campylobacter spp. While studies do not definitively rule out the detection problems and an accepted standard method will be developed for the detection and isolation of Campylobacter spp. at farm level, no standard measure may be successfully implemented in broiler production and therefore, from a public health point of view, strategies to reduce the number of human campylobacteriosis cases will not be efficient.
Poultry, Food Safety, Vertical Transmission, qPCR
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