Enrichment culture for the isolation of Campylobacter spp: Effects of incubation conditions and the inclusion of blood in selective broths

Isolation of Campylobacter spp. using enrichment culture is time consuming and complex. Reducing the time taken to confirm the presence or absence of Campylobacter spp. would have many advantages for diagnostic, commercial and research applications. Rapid techniques such as real-time PCR can detect campylobacters from complex samples but blood in enrichment culture can inhibit the PCR reaction, if applied directly to enriched samples. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blood in enrichment culture on the isolation of campylobacters from chicken caeca, carcass rinses and bootsock (gauze sock walked through a broiler chicken house) samples using Bolton broth. The effect of incubation temperature (37 °C or 41.5 °C for 48 h, or 37 °C for 4 h then transfer to 41.5 °C for 44 h) and method of generating atmosphere (incubation of container in jar gassed with microaerobic atmosphere or incubation of container with small headspace and tightly screwed lid in an aerobic atmosphere) with and without blood on isolation from chicken carcass rinses and chicken faeces was also investigated. The presence of blood in enrichment culture did not improve the isolation of campylobacters from chicken faeces or bootsock samples but significantly improved recovery from chicken carcass rinse samples. There was no significant effect of the method used to generate incubation atmosphere. Isolation rates did also not depend significantly on whether broths were incubated at 37 or 41.5 °C for 24 or 48 h. Overall, the presence of blood in such media is not essential, although isolation can vary depending on sample type and enrichment method used.