Frecuency and species of Campylobacter spp. in broiler at three levels of the poultry production chain of Costa Rica

Campylobacter spp. is one of the main bacteria that cause food borne illness. Many of these cases are caused by C. jejuni and C. coli, which are transmitted mainly by poultry. A cross-sectional study, conducted between March and July 2015, demonstrates the national frequency of Campylobacter spp. and the species C. jejuni and C. coli in broilers for human consumption using a simultaneous sampling design in three levels of Costa Rican poultry production chain. For this research, 152 samples of cecal content (CC) (87 farms), 104 samples of carcass rinse after chiller (CA) (six processing plants), and 96 carcass rinses from 96 retail stores (RS) were collected. The samples were analyzed by microbiological culture and PCR species specific. The overall frequency of Campylobacter spp obtained was 59.37% (209/352, 95% CI 54.24%-64.51%), for C. jejuni was 42.59% (95% CI 37.45%-48.26%), for C. coli was 3.09% (95% CI 1.21%-5.00%) and 8.64% (95% CI 5.62%-11.77%) for contamination with both species. The frequency of Campylobacter spp. in CC was 57.23% (95% CI 49.37%-65.10%), in CA was 61.53% (95% CI 52.19%-70.89%) and 60.42% (95% CI 50.63%-70.20%) for RS. The frequency of Campylobacter spp. found in this study is high, and it represents a risk for public health in Costa Rica. Preventive measures for this agent are few and inadequate, thus leading to high levels of contamination.