Detection of Campylobacter jejuni in raw meat

Background & Objectives: Campylobacter jejuni is a Gram negative, microaerophilic, non-spore-forming and a small curved bacillus which is able to cause foodborne infection in human. In this study the occurrence of C. jejuni in poultry and beef meat was investigated. Materials & Methods: Forty raw meat samples including 22 poultry samples and 18 beef samples were investigated for the presence of C. jejuni. To isolate the bacterium, the samples were initially enriched in Preston Broth medium and subsequently transferred to Campylobacter selective Agar containing defibrinated sheep blood and antibiotics. The biochemical tests were used for identification of isolated bacteria at species level. Results: Three poultry samples were positive for C. jejuni. Conclusion: Alimentary tract of chickens contain high numbers of C. jejuni therefore, this bacterium can be easily found in their feces. It is recommended to use chlorinated water in birds’ feed and to perform slaughtering, skinning and evisceration under aseptic conditions to prevent campylobacteriosis in human from poultry meat. None of the beef samples yielded any Campylobacter, this may be due to limited number of samples of beef meat analyzed in this study.