Drinking water as the source of Campylobacter coli infection in grandparent heavy breeders

The aim of the present study was the molecular identification of a common source of infection of Campylobacter coli in two grandparent breeder farms. Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli were isolated from well water and cloacal swabs from grandparent chickens. Colonies were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphism-flaA gene, pulsed field gel electrophoresis and multi-locus sequence typing. The same genotype of C. coli was found in both farms and in the well from which drinking water was supplied to the farms. The well water was epidemiologically linked as the source of C. coli infection. The molecular identification for epidemiological source-tracking of C. coli in breeder farms could aid in combating the colonization of this pathogen and therefore to reduce their incidence in human campylobacteriosis.