Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. in poultry feces and carcasses in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

The importance of Salmonella and Campylobacter as foodborne pathogens is well recognized worldwide. Poultry and poultry products are commonly considered as the major vehicles of Salmonella and Campylobacter infection in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the hygienic status of poultry facilities and determine the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in slaughtered poultry feces and carcasses in four different markets in Ouagadougou, capital city of Burkina Faso. A total of 103 poultry feces and 20 carcasses were analyzed using microbiological standard methods. Among the 103 fecal samples, 70 were positive for Campylobacter ssp (67.96%) and 54 for Salmonella ssp (52.42%). The hippurate hydrolysis test revealed that among the 70 Campylobacter strains isolated from feces, 49 were C. jejuni (70%) and 21 were C. coli (30%). From the 20 carcasses analyzed, 18 were contaminated with Salmonella (90%) and 10 with Campylobacter ssp (50%). Among the 10 Campylobacter ssp samples isolated from poultry carcasses, all were identified as C. jejuni using the API CAMPY system and the hippurate hydrolysis test. The assessment of markets hygienic practices for production, transportation, display, and vending of meat revealed unhygienic conditions. To complete the observation of unhygienic practices, we have sampled chicken‐washing solution from the study sites and microbiological analysis of these samples revealed the presence of Salmonella spp in 100% of the samples. This study highlighted that poultry products on sale in Ouagadougou are highly contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing Campylobacter presence in the poultry industry of Burkina Faso. Our findings might help to better understand the epidemiology of Salmonella and Campylobacter.