The role of whey on the performance and campylobacteriosis in broiler chicks.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the whey on broiler chicks' performance, welfare, and caecal Campylobacter counts under experimental and field conditions. In the experimental study, 120-d-old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to four treatment groups, as described below: group A, which served as negative control; group B, fed with a diet supplemented with 1% whey; group C, challenged with Campylobacter jejuni; and group D, supplemented with 1% whey and challenged with C. jejuni, respectively. Performance indexes and caecal C. jejuni counts were calculated. In addition to the performance indexes, the hock burn and the foot pad dermatitis lesions score were measured to assess the welfare status of broiler chicks. In order to evaluate the use of whey under field conditions, a second study was performed in a broiler farm with two identical houses. The evaluation of the experimental data revealed that the use of whey did not affect significantly the performance (P ≤ 0.05) and the caecal C. jejuni counts (P ≤ 0.05). There were neither footpad dermatitis lesions nor hock burn lesions in any of the experimental groups. In the field study, the use of whey had no effect on the performance indexes (P ≤ 0.05). It can be concluded that the addition of whey has no negative effect on poultry and may provide an alternative natural feed additive for the broiler feed industry.

Isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from small ruminants and their meat at slaughter and retail level in Greece.

UNLABELLED: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) presents major health risk for humans causing serious nosocomial and community-acquired infections. Asymptomatic food-producing animal carriers and their meat may represent potential reservoirs for human infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MRSA in small ruminants raised under free-range conditions and their meat at slaughter and retail level in Northern Greece. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 9·6% of the examined samples. All isolates were resistant at least to one antibiotic, whereas 59·3% of them were multidrug resistant (MDR) exhibiting resistance to three or more antibiotic classes. The higher resistance rates were observed against penicillin (100%), tetracycline (74%), clindamycin (59·3%) and erythromycin (51·9%). Resistance to cefoxitin was exhibited by 22·2% of the isolates, but only one isolate was found to carry the mecA gene and belonged to spa type t127. This is the first time this type of Staph. aureus is isolated in Greece from the surface of a small ruminant's carcass. The presence of multidrug resistant Staph. aureus, and especially MRSA, in small ruminants and their meat, represents a potential threat for the spread of this pathogen in the community. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study is the first report on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in small ruminants and their meat at slaughter level in Greece, elucidating a possible vehicle food for transmission to humans. These results suggest that human or animal sources could be involved in meat contamination and thus sources of contamination require investigation to control the dispersion of MRSA in the community.