The importance of Campylobacter and Salmonella as foodborne pathogens is well recognised globally. A recent work in Penang found ducks in commercial farms were infected with these organisms. The aim of the study was to detect the presence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in ducks and Salmonella in duck eggs in farms in a small part of Selangor. Cloacal swabs were obtained from 75 ducks and 30 duck eggs from three farms. The isolation and identification of Campylobacter and Salmonella were done using conventional methods. Twelve percent of Campylobacter and 16.0% of Salmonella were isolated from the ducks sampled. Salmonella was absent on and in eggs. Campylobacter isolates consisted of 22% Campylobacter jejuni and the remaining was Campylobacter coli. Three Salmonella serovars identified were Salmonella Agona, S. Braenderup and S. Corvallis. The presence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in ducks may cause contamination of the meat during processing and handling which can constitute public health hazard. Moreover, the farm workers may be exposed to the organisms through contact with the infected animals.
The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in live chickens sold at wet markets in Selangor, Malaysia and the multidrug resistance (MDR) profiles of the isolates. Cloacal swabs were taken from the chickens before slaughter and their caecal mucosae were swabbed after slaughter. Of the 90 chickens examined, 68 (75.6%) were positive for Campylobacter. Campylobacter were recovered from caecal swabs (53/90) and cloacal swabs (34/90) and Campylobacter coli (46 isolates) were identified slightly more than Campylobacter jejuni (41 isolates), but these differences were not significant (p<0.05). The most frequently observed resistance was to cephalothin (95.5%), followed by tetracycline (80.8%), erythromycin (51.4%), enrofloxacin (42.4%) and gentamicin (24.4%). Multidrug resistance (resistant to four or more antibiotics) was detected in 35.3% isolates. Campylobacter jejuni showed nine resistance profiles and the most common was to gentamicin-eryhtromycin-enrofloxacin-cephalothin-tetracycline (32.4%) combination while C. coli showed six profiles, with cephalothin-tetracycline (32.2%) combination being most common.