Biotypes and serotypes of thermophilic campylobacters isolated from cattle, sheep and pig offal and other red meats

Abstract

In this study we examined 730 faecal samples of offal (mainly liver), mince-meat and sausage meat collected from abattoirs and retail butchers' shops for campylobacters. Campylobacter jejuni or C. coli were isolated from 30.6, 10.5 and 6% of sheep, cattle and pig offal samples respectively. Specimens collected from abattoirs were, in general, more often contaminated than material obtained from retail butchers' shops. Only 1.4% of minced meats and sausage meats contained campylobacters. Most isolates (89.5%) were C. jejuni biotype 1 (Skirrow & Benjamin, 1980) of serotypes 1 and 2 (Penner & Hennessy, 1980). This study shows that animal offal is frequently contaminated with C. jejuni of biotypes and serotypes commonly isolated from human beings with campylobacter enteritis.