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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2009, p. 5244-5249, Vol. 75, No. 16
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00374-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Chickens and Cattle as Sources of Sporadic Domestically Acquired Campylobacter jejuni Infections in Finland{triangledown}

Marjaana Hakkinen,1,2* Ulla-Maija Nakari,3 and Anja Siitonen3

Research Department, Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Helsinki, Finland,1 Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,2 Unit of Gastrointestinal Infections, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland3

Received 16 February 2009/ Accepted 12 June 2009

A substantial sampling among domestic human campylobacter cases, chicken process lots, and cattle at slaughter was performed during the seasonal peak of human infections. Campylobacter jejuni isolates (n = 419) were subtyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with SmaI, and isolates representing overlapping types (n = 212) were further subtyped using KpnI for restriction. The SmaI/KpnI profiles of 55.4% (97/175) of the human isolates were indistinguishable from those of the chicken or cattle isolates. The overlapping SmaI/KpnI subtypes accounted for 69.8% (30/43) and 15.9% (32/201) of the chicken and cattle isolates, respectively. The occurrence of identical SmaI/KpnI subtypes with human C. jejuni isolates was significantly associated with animal host species (P < 0.001). A temporal association of isolates from chickens and patients was possible in 31.4% (55/175) of the human infections. Besides chickens as sources of C. jejuni in the sporadic infections, the role of cattle appears notable. New approaches to restrict the occurrence of campylobacters in other farm animals may be needed in addition to hygienic measures in chicken production. However, only about half of the human infections were attributable to these sources.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Mustialankatu 3, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland. Phone: 358 2077 24471. Fax: 358 2077 24350. E-mail: marjaana.hakkinen{at}evira.fi

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 19 June 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2009, p. 5244-5249, Vol. 75, No. 16
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00374-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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