Campylobacter jejuni e Campylobacter coli EM CARCAÇAS DE FRANGO RESFRIADAS E CONGELADAS

Species of thermophilic  Campylobacter  spp. are agents of campylobacteriosis outbreaks in humans, and poultry products are implicated as major sources of infection. The detection of  Campylobacter  spp. was performed by conventional microbiology in poultry carcasses collected in slaughterhouses and species were identifiied by multiplex-PCR. Thermophilic  Campylobacter  spp. was verified in 63.8% of the samples, being 72.2% in chilled carcasses and 55.5% in frozen carcasses. Of these, 83.3% were positive for  C. jejuni  and 66.6% to  C. coli , while 50% were positive for both. The presence of thermophilic  Campylobacter  spp. in ready-to-eat poultry products represents a potential source of human campylobacteriosis.  Keywords:  campylobacteriosis; poultry slaughterhouses; thermophilic bacteria.