Occurrence of Campylobacter Spp. in Romanian Broiler Chicken Production Sector

Due to the well-known potential of Campylobacter spp. to determine illness in humans, its detection and occurrence, especially in poultry meat (due to the frequent contamination of this food product) are considered highly important for the consumer’s health point of view. In order to determine the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in the Romanian broiler chicken production sector, a number of five units were selected and samples were collected as it follows: a total number of 600 samples consisting of chicken skin neck, 600 samples of intact intestines and 1200 samples of fresh chicken carcasses. The results were different from one unit to another, but overall, 54.7 % of the caecal material samples, 48.5 % of the neck skin samples and 31,5 % of the carcass samples were contaminated with Campylobacter spp., with an overall percentage of positive samples reaching 60,2 %. This high occurrence opens the opportunity for future research in order to determine the causes leading to contamination, while also identifying the species of this genus, for a better understanding of this mechanism through which this foodborne pathogen contaminates broiler meat.