Abstract
Go to
The lack of a national campylobacteriosis surveillance system in Egypt warrants the need for periodical disease evaluation. This study aimed to determine campylobacteriosis prevalence in broiler chicken farms and slaughterhouses as well as in humans at Assiut Governorate, Egypt. Biochemical and molecular reactions have been employed to determine Campylobacterioiss prevalence. Additionally, the predisposing factors for human campylobacteriosis were assessed. The overall prevalence of Campylobacter species detected by biochemical reactions and multiplex PCR assay was found to be 23.51% and 22.46%, respectively. Prevalence rates of 16.83%, 24% and 27.55% were recorded for the incorporated samples from broiler farms, slaughterhouses and humans, respectively. None of the analyzed demographic determinants (age, gender and residence) significantly affected Campylobacteriois prevalence in humans. Interestingly, mixed infection was the predominate finding among positive samples and none was confirmed to have C. jejuni alone. Additionally, Arcobacter was recovered either independently or coexisted with Campylobacter in poultry samples; nevertheless, zero detected from humans. This study confirms that broilers could represent an important public health threat to Assiut Governorate residents. Accordingly, measures on how to minimize the contamination level at farms, slaughterhouses and during culinary practices should be disseminated to farm workers, slaughterhouse men and consumers.