High occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in Latvian broiler chicken production

Campylobacteriosis in humans is caused by thermotolerant Campylobacter spp., most commonly by C. jejuni and C. coli. However, no official data for human campylobacteriosis in Latvia is available or cases are heavily under-reported. In accordance with Commission Decision 2007/516/EC the Campylobacter spp. baseline study was performed in 2008 in Latvia but there was no continuous monitoring for the Campylobacter at broiler chicken production level in 2009. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken production at slaughterhouse and retail level in Latvia. Poultry samples originated from the two biggest Latvian broiler slaughterhouses. Altogether, 240 fresh broiler chicken neck skins, 2400 intact broiler chicken intestines and 240 fresh broiler chicken carcasses were collected during the year 2010. A total of 92.5% of the pooled intestine samples; 60.8% of the neck skin samples and 56.3% of carcasses were positive for Campylobacter spp. There was seasonal variation in proportions of Campylobacter positive samples with seasonal peak on summer months.