Recovery of Campylobacter from broiler feces during extended storage of transport cages

USDA-ARS Russell Research Center, Poultry Processing and Meat Quality Research Unit, PO Box 5677, Athens, Georgia 30604-5677, USA. mberrang@saa.ars.usda.gov

Feces deposited in transport cages by a Campylobacter-positive flock can cause the spread of Campylobacter to subsequent flocks placed in the same cages. This experiment was designed to determine the effect of extended cage storage on the viability of Campylobacter in feces deposited on the cage floor during commercial transport and holding. After 4 h of feed (but not water) withdrawal, Campylobacter-positive broilers were caught by commercial catching crews, placed into 3 new commercial cages and transported with the rest of the flock to the holding area at a commercial processing facility. Broilers were allowed to remain in the cages for 8 h before being unloaded by facility personnel. After removal of the broilers, empty cages were held under a shed and sampled at 7 intervals for the presence of viable Campylobacter. Cages were sampled by removing all the feces out of a different randomly assigned compartment in each cage at 0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 24, and 48 h after unloading. No decrease in Campylobacter numbers was noted through 8 h of storage. After 24 h in both replications, Campylobacter was detected in 2 of 3 compartments by direct plating and detected in the third by enrichment only. After 48 h, Campylobacter was detected in one replication by enrichment only, and was not detected in the second replication at all. Storing soiled transport cages for 48 h between uses results in lower numbers of Campylobacter in feces, but may not eliminate Campylobacter entirely. Due to cage cost and space requirements, routine cage storage between uses would not be practical.