Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken produced by major poultry companies in Saudi Arabia

Campylobacter jejuni is a well-known food-borne patho- gen, transmitted to humans by the eating of warm-blooded animal meat, especially poultry (Jay et al. 2005; Nielsen et al. 1997). This bacterium is a major cause of food-borne diarrhea in many countries. It has gained more attention in the last 30 years because it has been recognized as a major cause of human illnesses, ranging from gastroenteritis to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (Khanna et al. 1996; Tauxe, 2001; Moore et al. 2005). The 2 most frequently occurring Campylobacter species that are of clinical significance because of meat consumption and meat products are C. jejuni and C. coli. Campylobacter jejuni accounts for more than 90% of incidences of human campylobacteriosis (Lindmark et al. 2009). Campylobacteriosis in humans results from eating undercooked meat and/or contaminated meals (Corry and Atabay 2001). Survey studies have revealed a high prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry meats (Dickins et al. 2002; Ridsdale et al. 1998; Stoyanchev et al. 2007). Few studies on Campylobacter in the Saudi Arabian food market have been performed. Therefore, this study investi- gates the prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni in locally produced refrigerated chicken carcasses, as affected by storage time. Whole-cell protein profiles of presumptive Campylobacter isolates were compared with the standard strain of Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 33291 on SDS page. High degree of similarity within standard strain was confirmed by biochemical identification using an API CAMPY biotyping identification system.