Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli among broilers in Bareilly region

Aim: To determine the prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli among broilers at the time of slaughter in and around Bareilly, India. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 chicken caecal samples were screened by conventional plating in modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar with incubation at 42°C for 48 h under microaerophilic conditions. The characteristic colonies were confirmed by morphological and biochemical characteristics and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assay targeting lpxA gene. Results: Out of 100 chicken caecal samples, 32 yielded isolates with typical phenotypic of Campylobacter species. The hippurate hydrolysis test found to be positive for 2 isolates, categorized as C. jejuni and negative for 30 isolates. The mPCR assay targeting lpxA gene also confirmed 2 (6.25%) isolates as C. jejuni, and 30 (93.75%) isolates as C. coli. Conclusion: The present study showed broilers to an important source of Campylobacter in the region with predominance of C. coli than C. jejuni indicating a shift in the prevalence of important species of Campylobacter. To understand the variation in pattern of occurrence of species with high prevalence of organisms, detail studies on the ecology of campylobacteriosis are suggested.