Find in Library

Poultry origin <i>Campylobacter</i> is considered as one of the leading causal agents of human foodborne illness. This study was conducted to estimate the occurrence, molecular identification, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of <i>Campylobacter</i> species from the broiler farms in Bangladesh. Samples (352) were collected from 32 farms and comprised of 128 cloacal swab, 64 feed, 64 drinking water, 64 attendants’ hand rinsed water, and 32 whole carcasses. All samples were tested for the presence of <i>Campylobacter</i> via cultural, biochemical, and PCR. The AMR was determined via the disc diffusion method. An overall occurrence of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. was estimated as 26.4%. The level of <i>Campylobacter</i> contamination was found to be higher in conventional farms (36.4%) than the good practice farms (16.5%) including all sample categories (<i>p</i> = 0.000). Of 93 isolates, 67.74% and 32.26% were confirmed as <i>C. jejuni</i> and <i>C. coli</i> respectively, of which 34.92% <i>C. jejuni</i>, and 30% <i>C. coli</i> were shown to be multidrug-resistant. A significant occurrence of <i>Campylobacter</i> contamination in broiler farms with multidrug resistant patterns might be cogitated as serious food safety and public health concern linking to poultry food chain. A risk reduction approach through good farming practices targeting the prudent use of antimicrobials for broiler production is thus necessitated.