Occurrence of Helicobacter pullorum in turkeys

In order to investigate the occurrence of Helicobacter pullorum in turkeys, caecum contents collected at the slaughterhouse from 55 animals intensively reared in 11 farms were sampled. Gram-negative curved rod bacteria were isolated by a modified Steele and McDermott filter technique and further identified as H. pullorum by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eleven and 31 isolates, randomly selected from each positive farm, underwent phenotypic (biochemical and antibiotic susceptibility tests) and genotypic characterization (PFGE and AFLP analysis), respectively. Forty-two out of 55 animals (76.4%) and all the 11 farms sampled were positive for H. pullorum. Isolates showed similar biochemical characteristics and whole cell protein profiles but showed a high degree of genetic heterogeneity. Ten out of 11 isolates were resistant to one or more antibiotics with erythromycin, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid resistance being the most frequently detected. This is the first description of H. pullorum in turkeys. H. pullorum is a frequent intestinal colonizer in turkeys; therefore, attention should be given to clarify the food-borne risk linked to carcass contamination. Antibiotic resistance is a concern since high values of resistance rates were observed.