ISOLATION AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPECIES ISOLATED FROM HUMANS AND SLAUGHTERED BROILER-CHICKENS AT KERBALA RETAIL POINTS

A cross-sectional study was done during the period from December 2021 to July 2022 to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter species and their infection rates in humans and slaughtered broiler-chickens at Kerbala province. A total of 260 samples were collected as follows: 40 cecal swabs were collected from different local markets distributed in Kerbala, 80 samples swabs from de-feathering machines and carcass rinse water, and 40 samples from local and imported frozen chickens, in addition to, 100 samples from people with diarrhea from Al-Hussain Medical City and General Children's Hospital at Kerbala (Iraq). All samples were subjected to the initial bacterial isolation processes on the special and distinctive culture media for Campylobacter Spp. Results showed that contamination rates of Campylobacter species were 26% in broiler intestines, 12.5% in carcass rinse water, 10% from de-feathering machines and 7.5% of frozen chickens. The rate of infection in humans was 6% and results show that there is a significant (p-value ≤0.05) correlation between age and infection with Campylobacter spp., as the results show high infections in children under five years of age, and the incidence rate decreases with increasing age. Eleven isolates (25%) from 44 suspected samples were subjected to molecular identification single PCR for confirmation of Campylobacter as genus. All examined isolates showed to be Campylobacter and were amplified 816 bp PCR products and five isolates (9%) from 44 suspected samples were subjected to multiplexed PCR for detection of three species of Campylobacter (C. jejuni, C. coli & C. lari.). Four of these sample shows C. coli.