HOW CHICKEN MOVEMENT IS USED TO DETECT CAMPYLOBACTER-INFECTED FLOCK.

An Oxford team tested the hypothesis that flocks colonized with Campylobacter might be distinguishable by their behavior.This is based on suggestions that infection could have an impact on chickens' welfare. Professor Marian Dawkins, of Animal Behaviour at Oxford and corresponding author on the paper, said: "We used a novel and non-invasive way of monitoring the behavior of chickens throughout their lives that involved analyzing the optical flow patterns from cameras inside broiler houses. What is optical flow and how is it measured? Optical flow works by detecting the patterns formed by changes in brightness in moving images, both temporally and spatially.It is computationally simple and does not require tagging or marking individual animals, making it ideal for long-term continuous monitoring of large groups of similar animals such as egg-laying hens and broiler chickens, where optical flow is predictive of key welfare measures such as mortality rate. To test the hypothesis that optical flow analysis might also be able to detect when flocks become infected with Campylobacter, the researchers collected data for 31 commercial broiler flocks.They also collected faecal samples from those same flocks and tested them for the presence of Campylobacter at different ages (21 days, 28 days and 35 days) using standard laboratory methods. This gave a direct comparison between optical flow and testing from fecal samples. Campylobacter-positive flocks showed lower mean optical flow (less average movement) and higher kurtosis (less uniform movement) than flocks without the bacteria - as early as the first 10 days of life. Additionally, this link was independent of external temperature. Professor Dawkins said: "Our results provide statistical evidence of a link between broiler chicken flock behavior and Campylobacter status. excerpts from journal proceedings from Royal society B

DYSBIOSIS IN BROILERS.

Poultry products are a major avenue for the introduction of Campylobacter into the food supply, with undercooked poultry and cross-contamination as the common way that Campylobacter is transmitted to humans. The largest number of these food borne bacterial infections is caused by the species Campylobacter jejuni. 

 Professor Tom Humphrey of Swansea University in Wales gave a presentation entitled ‘Campylobacter: important human and chicken pathogens’. According to Humphrey, Campylobacter is currently the most significant pathogen that can be transmitted from animals to humans through meat. In that framework, more attention should be given to Campylobacter than to Salmonella at present. Currently around the world, Campylobacter is causing a massive number of infections and inflammations. 

One big problem in the fight against Campylobacter at this time is that there are no concrete measures that can be taken to prevent meat from being contami-nated. The only advice that can be given to consumers is that they should thoroughly roast or cook chicken meat. 

 According to Van Immerseel, the group of professor Pasmans at Ghent University is currently working on research that involves developing Campylobacter antibodies to be used as feed additives. The antibodies attach themselves to the Campylobacter bacterium, thus impeding the bacterium in its interaction with the chicken gut.

 These antibodies can then be added to compound feeding stuffs. “They expect to be able to say within months whether it’s going to work or not,” said Van Immerseel. According to the professor, the poultry sector worldwide has Salmonella increasingly under control. “Laying hens are vaccinated and, in respect of broilers, the focus is on good hygiene and decontamination measures.” Excerpts from presentation at the IHSIG termed One world,One health.