P15 | Prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in the Italian poultry supply chain and characterization of the isolates (PRIN2022 CAMPITALY project)

R. Roila¹, R. Branciari¹, C. Scarano², S. Stella³, F. Piras², C. Bernardi³, A. Cantarini¹, G. Siddi², A. Sau², E. De Santis², F. Addis³, C. Locatelli³, D. Ranucci¹, E. Tirloni³ | ¹ Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Perugia, via San Costanzo, Perugia; ² Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari; ³Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Scienze Animali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Lodi, Italy

Purpose. In 2023, campylobacteriosis remained the most frequently reported zoonosis in humans, with over 148,181 confirmed cases in European countries. This data highlights the importance of Campylobacter spp. as a priority pathogen for public health. The risk to consumers is primarily attributable to the high prevalence of the microorganism and the possibility of cross-contamination between raw meat and ready-to-eat foods. The CAMPITALY project (PRIN2022) represents a multidisciplinary approach aimed at assessing the level of contamination by Campylobacter spp. along the Italian poultry meat supply chain and reducing the associated risk, particularly by promoting greater consumer awareness of the correct handling and preparation of poultry meat. In this phase of the project, preliminary data on poultry meat contamination in the poultry supply chain (from farming to retail) are presented. Methods. The survey covered three Italian regions (Sardinia, Lombardy, and Umbria), with a total of 547 samples collected during four distinct sampling sessions. The first part concerned the rearing phase (104 samples), including environmental samples (litter, water, feed, footwear), and the second part concerned the slaughtering phase (184 samples), including swabs taken from the cages containing the animals (78 samples) and neck skin samples taken after slaughtering (106 samples). The third part involved organized large-scale retail outlets, from which samples of cut meats with or without skin and meat preparations were collected (259 samples). All samples were subjected to microbiological analysis aimed at detecting and quantifying Campylobacter spp. The isolates obtained were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Results. The results showed the presence of Campylobacter spp. in 63.3% of the total samples taken, particularly in farms where the prevalence was 23.1%, and at the slaughterhouse, a positivity rate of 91% was detected in cage swabs and 88.7% in neck skin samples. Finally, the prevalence in retail phase samples was found to be 60.6%. Species analysis showed that all isolates (806) belonged to either the C. jejuni or C. coli species, with a prevalence of 61% and 39%, respectively. Specifically, the relative prevalence of C. jejuni was higher in samples from the slaughterhouse (65.4%) compared to those taken at retail outlets (57.5%). Conclusions. Based on the analysis of the preliminary results, the need to adopt strategies aimed at controlling the presence of Campylobacter spp. in the broiler chicken supply chain emerges to reduce the pathogen's entry into the food chain and, consequently, reduce the incidence of disease in humans.