Frecuencia de Campylobacter spp en muestras de carne de pollo procedentes de plantas de faenamiento que suministran al cantón Ambato

Abstract

Campylobacter spp. It is considered one of the most important meat contaminants as it is the cause of most foodborne diseases (ETAs) in humans, its main route of transmission is through contaminated food of animal origin. The slaughtering process plays a very important role in the dissemination of this bacterium, in this sense the slaughtering plants must comply with all hygienic-sanitary regulations to avoid the presence of Campylobacter spp. in chicken meat. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of Campylobacter spp, for which 45 samples were collected from 9 slaughter plants that supply chicken meat to the Ambato canton, the initial identification was carried out through microbiological and biochemical tests, such as the growth at 42°C, Gram stain, oxidase, catalase and motility, where 14 (31.11%) candidates for Campylobacter spp were obtained, however molecular identification by amplifying the 16S gene confirmed that the isolated bacteria were: Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus gallinarum, Aeromonas veronii, Escherichia coli, and Escherichia fergusonii. Finally, the risk factors associated with the contamination of chicken meat from the different slaughter plants were evaluated. In conclusion, it was possible to verify that the chicken meat from the slaughter plants under study contains potentially pathogenic bacteria for humans, putting consumers at great risk who develop gastrointestinal signs after consuming the contaminated meat.