Campylobacter jejuni seasonal recovery observations of retail market broilers

This study investigated possible seasonal trends in the Campylobacter jejuni carrier state of market broilers. In this study, broiler carcasses, 15 each of two major companies, were obtained from a local supermarket each month for an entire year to evaluate the presence of C. jejuni on the carcasses. Direct plating and the whole carcass rinse procedure were used for C. jejuni detection. Resuscitation of damaged cells and preenrichment of low numbers of microorganisms were accomplished by Hunt's procedure. None of the carcasses tested positive from direct plating of skin flora in this study. After both Company A and Company B broiler samples were enriched, 69% (229/330) of the raw commercial broilers were positive for C. jejuni. The highest recovery rates were obtained during the warmer months of the year, from May through October (93, 97, 97, 87, 87, and 93% respectively), and the lowest were obtained in December (7%) and January (33%). Storage time, due to slow movement of broilers, appeared to affect the detectability of C. jejuni during December and January. This study shows that seasons of the year influence C. jejuni detectability and the carrier state in market broilers at retail level.