Isolation and identification of enteropathogenic Campylobacter spp. from chicken samples in Taipei

A total of 95 chicken samples that consisted of 34 whole chickens, 32 organs (gizzards and livers), and 29 chicken parts (drumsticks, wings, and breasts), collected from traditional retail markets (no chilling facilities) and supermarkets in Taipei, were examined for the occurrence of enteropathogenic campylobacters. Three selective media, Peterz's charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar, Campy-Cefex agar, and charcoal-based selective medium, were evaluated for their efficacy to isolate Campylobacter spp. from chicken samples. The results showed that there were no differences among the three media to isolate Campylobacter spp. from all chicken samples (P > 0.05). However, there were markedly different isolation rates of campylobacters between supermarket and retail market (P < 0.05). Enteropathogenic campylobacters (C. jejuni and C. coli) were found on 68% of whole chickens, 100% of chicken parts, and 100% of organs from retail markets. In supermarkets, the isolation rates of these campylobacters from whole chickens, chicken parts, and organs were 42%, 53%, and 60%, respectively. The low isolation rates of the two campylobacters isolated from chicken samples in supermarkets differed statistically from those obtained from traditional retail markets (P < 0.10). The API CAMPY test kit also was evaluated for the identification of Campylobacter spp. as compared with the conventional identification method. The results showed that the API CAMPY test kit (Biomerieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France) could efficiently detect 87 Campylobacter spp. isolates from chicken samples examined, with 100% agreement at the genus level to 94% at the species level as compared with conventional methods.