Occuerrence of thermotolerant Campylobacters in table eggs

Abstract EN

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

particularly C.

jejuni and C.

coli are recognized as the leading causes of bacterial foodborne diarrheal disease throughout the developed and developing world for more than century.

A total of 500 eggs of Baladi and large scale eggs (250 eggs each) were collected from farmers' houses and markets in Qena Governorate.

Samples were divided into pools (each pool contained 5 eggs obtaining 100 pools) and were examined for existence of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

on their egg shells and in their inner content.

The biochemically identified C.

jejuni and C.

coli isolates were confirmed using multiplex PCR.

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

were isolated from 15 and 5% of egg shell and egg content samples, respectively.

Isolates from egg shell samples were distributed as C.

jejuni (9%), C.

coli (4%), C.

lari (1%) and C.

upsaliensis (1%), while isolates from egg content samples were identified as C.

jejuni (4%) and C.

lari (1%).

Large scale egg samples which are produced by poultry farms lacked thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

Whereas, 30 and 10% of Baladi egg samples collected from farmers' houses were contaminated with thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

on their egg shell and in their content, respectively.

This study focuses on the risk of transmission of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp.

through table eggs, especially that produced by farmers' houses (Baladi egg), in Qena.