Title : Overview of the presence of Campylobacter species on poultry farms in Montenegro
Abstract:
Campylobacteriosis is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract which has been the most frequently reported foodborne zoonosis in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) region since 2005 (EFSA & ECDC, 2022). The causative agent of this disease is Campylobacter, Gran negative battery, ubiquitous in the environment, including in industrial plants and primary production farms.
During the year 2024, tests were conducted to assess the presence of Campylobacter species on poultry farms in Montenegro. Montenegro has implemented the Process Hygiene Criterion (PHC) defined by Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 (EC, 2005) based on the quantification of Campylobacter on neck skin samples, whereby a limit on the acceptable threshold on the contamination of carcasses (<1,000 CFU/g) is set. Samples were collected once a month from four selected slaughterhouses, from different regions of Montenegro. In slaughterhouses, five random neck skin samples are collected from broilers belonging to the same flock. A total of 130 neck skin samples were tested using the ISO 10272-2:2017 Horizontal method for detection and enumeration of Campylobacter spp - Colony-count technique. Less than 100cfu/g Campylobacter spp. was recorded in 48% of samples. 15% of samples were contaminated with Campylobacter species in values of 100-1000cfu/g, while 40% of samples had more than 1000cfu/g Campylobacter spp. The majority of isolates were identified as Campylobacter jejuni spp jejuni 2, 96% to be exact. The remaining isolates were identified as Campylobacter coli (1%) and Campylobacter spp. (3%).
This is one of the steps aimed at establishing a more efficient system of measures to monitor and reduce the presence of Campylobacter spp. on poultry farms, since campylobacteriosis is still the most commonly reported zoonosis in Europe.
