Risk of carcase contamination with Campylobacter in sheep sent for slaughter into an abattoir in Scotland

Campylobacter species have been identified as the major cause of acute bacterial enteritis in the UK. However, the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis remains poorly understood. It has been suggested that the role of sheep in the epidemiology of Campylobacter has been underestimated. The objective of the present study was to assess the infection risk of Campylobacter in sheep meat as a potential risk for human campylobacteriosis and to establish any possible associations between the epidemiological factors considered in the study and the presence of Campylobacter on lamb carcases. The prevalence of Campylobacter obtained from faecal samples and swabs from fleeces and carcases was presented in a previous paper. Epidemiological data was collected through questionnaires in order to identify risk factors for the presence of Campylobacter on the carcases and to make recommendations, based on the results obtained, to prevent human campylobacteriosis.