Effects of Common Litter Management Practices on the Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni in Broilers

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The bacterium Campylobacter is a significant cause of foodborne illness, causing over one million cases per year in the United States. Campylobacter is naturally found in chickens and can contaminate chicken products; therefore, strategies to lower Campylobacter presence in chickens are important to public health. Commercial chickens are raised in houses with bedding material, or litter, covering the floor. Litter can become contaminated with Campylobacter, which in turn will then colonize the birds. In some countries, after a flock of chickens is harvested, the litter is treated and reused for the next flock, which could spread Campylobacter. The goal of this study was to observe if reusing contaminated litter could indeed spread Campylobacter and to determine if common litter treatments were able to prevent contamination of the next flock. To determine this, previously used litter contaminated with Campylobacter was composted and treated with sodium bisulfate. A flock was raised on this litter and tested for Campylobacter for 42 days. No Campylobacter was detected in any of these samples, indicating that re-used litter is not a probable source for Campylobacter contamination of chickens. ABSTRACT: Campylobacter is an important foodborne pathogen and is naturally found in chickens. During broiler production, litter can become contaminated with Campylobacter when birds defecate, and this litter, in some countries, is typically reused for the next flock, potentially causing cross-contamination. The goal of this experiment was to observe if reusing contaminated litter could spread Campylobacter between flocks and to observe if common litter treatments could prevent this cross-contamination. To determine this, a flock of birds was inoculated with Campylobacter jejuni and allowed to naturally contaminate the litter for 42 days. After grow-out, birds were terminated, and litter was given five treatments: uninoculated fresh litter, untreated re-used litter, composted re-used litter, re-used litter treated with sodium bisulfate (45 kg/305 m(2)), and re-used litter composted and treated with sodium bisulfate (45 kg/305 m(2)). A second flock was placed on the litter, grown for 42 days, and tested for C. jejuni prevalence. Following inoculation of the first flock, high prevalence of C. jejuni was observed; however, after a 19-day down-time between flocks, no C. jejuni was detected in any samples from the second flock. These results indicate that re-used litter was not a significant reservoir for cross-contamination of broilers when provided a significant down-time between flocks.