Determination of the optimal culture conditions for detecting thermophilic campylobacters in environmental water

► We evaluated alternative protocols for culturing thermophilic campylobacters in environmental water. ► Four culture variables and three rRNA PCR assays were compared. ► The optimal conditions were 2000 mL sample volume and a single enrichment broth of 25 mL PB incubated for 48 h. ► Compared with culture results, Lubeck's 16S PCR assay had the best performance.