Transmission of Campylobacter coli in chicken embryos

• Main Authors: Daise Aparecida Rossi, Belchiolina Beatriz Fonseca, Roberta Torres de Melo, Gutembergue da Silva Felipe, Paulo Lourenço da Silva, Eliane Pereira Mendonça, Ana Luzia Lauria Filgueiras, Marcelo Emilio Beletti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia 2012-06-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Microbiology
• Subjects: Campylobacter coli; Viability; Transmission; Breeder hens
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822012000200014

Campylobacter coli is an important species involved in human cases of enteritis, and chickens are carriers of the pathogen mainly in developing country. The current study aimed to evaluate the transmission of C. coli and its pathogenic effects in chicken embryos. Breeder hens were inoculated intra-esophageally with C. coli isolated from chickens, and their eggs and embryos were analyzed for the presence of bacteria using real-time PCR and plate culture. The viability of embryos was verified. In parallel, SPF eggs were inoculated with C. coli in the air sac; after incubation, the embryos were submitted to the same analysis as the embryos from breeder hens. In embryos and fertile eggs from breeder hens, the bacterium was only identified by molecular methods; in the SPF eggs, however, the bacterium was detected by both techniques. The results showed no relationship between embryo mortality and positivity for C. coli in the embryos from breeder hens. However, the presence of bacteria is a cause of precocious mortality for SPF embryos. This study revealed that although the vertical transmission is a possible event, the bacteria can not grow in embryonic field samples.