Prevalence and risk factors associated with campylobacter infections in broiler flocks in Shiraz, southern Iran

Campylobacter species are among the most common bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis in many countries, and poultry meat is considered as a major source of human campylobacteriosis. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of infection by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in broiler flocks in Shiraz and to investigate the possible risk factors for the campylobacter infections in this area. For detection of campylobacter, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) was used. Between August and September 2009, a total of 100 broiler flocks from 100 commercial broiler farms were selected at slaughter and campylobacter status was determined by mPCR on caecal samples. Data about farms and flocks were collected by questionnaires. Approximately 76% (95% CI: 67-84%) of the flocks were positive for C. jejuni or C. coli. Twenty two percent were positive for C. jejuni, 32% for C. coli and 22% for both species. Results of the statistical analysis using multivariable logistic regression showed that the odds of flock infection decreased when level of owner's education (years) increased (OR = 0.86, P = 0.04), also odds of infection was nearly five times higher when age at slaughter was ≥ 45 days compared with < 45 days (OR = 5.3, P = 0.003) and use of antibiotic medications at early stage of production period was negatively associated with the infection status of the flock (OR = 0.33, OR = 0.059). We found no evidence of the effects of any other factors such as time interval between successive flocks, hygiene measures and number of broiler houses on the farm on the prevalence of campylobacter infection. Getting more attention to the health education issues and planning qualitative studies to reveal the behavioral aspects of the management policy, may be subjects of interest for future researches.