Motile aeromonads in the feces and carcasses of broiler chickens in Turkey

Motile Aeromonas spp. were surveyed in chicken feces, carcasses, scalding water, and chilling water during slaughtering in a commercial processing plant in Turkey. Fecal and carcass samples of 351 chickens from 15 different flocks were examined by selective isolation techniques. All of the 15 flocks were positive for motile aeromonads. Motile aeromonads were detected in 14.8%, 90.5%, and 100% of fecal, carcass, and chilling water samples, respectively, while scalding water samples were negative for these organisms. Aeromonas hydrophila was the predominant species in both feces (51.9%) and carcass (66.9%) samples, followed by A. caviae and A. sobria. These results suggested that during the slaughtering process the spread of motile aeromonads from the intestinal contents to carcasses via processing water caused a heavy contamination of chicken carcasses.