Epidemiology and infection199:3, Vol. 110. 273-278
A total of 255 samnples of droppings collected from a total of 22 different poultry
units were exainined for the presence of thermophilic campylobacters and the
isolates biotyped using Skirrow's protocol. The organismTs were isolated from 90
(35*3 %) of all samples. Among the 22 units investigated, 13 (59 %) were found to
have unsatisfactory management svstems, while 7 (32 %) and 2 (9 %) were found
to have unsatisfactory and good systems respectively. Significantly large numbers
of isolations, 68 of 147 (46 2 %), were made from samples collected from poultry
units with poor management (P < 0 005). compared with 19 out of 84 (22 6%)
samples which were collected from satisfactory units and 3 out of 24 (125%)
samples collected from units exercising particularly good management. Nineteen
of 72 (26-4%) samples collected from broilers, 32 out of 132 (24-2%) samples
collected from layers and 39 out of 51 (76 49 %) samples collected from indigenous
free range poultry were positive for campylobacters. Among the 90 strains isolated
from various units, 64 (704 0 ) were Cnampylobacterjejuni, 25 (27-7 %) were C. coli,
and only 1 (2 2 %) was C. laridis.