TY - JOUR T1 - Molecular Epidemiology of <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em> in Broiler Flocks Using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR and 23S rRNA-PCR and Role of Litter in Its Transmission JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology JO - Appl. Environ. Microbiol. SP - 260 LP - 263 VL - 65 IS - 1 AU - Payne, Randy E. AU - Lee, Margie D. AU - Dreesen, David W. AU - Barnhart, Harold M. Y1 - 1999/01/01 UR - http://aem.asm.org/content/65/1/260.abstract N2 - Poultry has long been cited as a reservoir forCampylobacter spp., and litter has been implicated as a vehicle in their transmission. Chicks were raised on litter removed from a broiler house positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Litter was removed from the house on days 0, 3, and 9 after birds were removed for slaughter. Chicks were raised on these three litters under controlled conditions in flocks of 25. None of these birds yieldedC. jejuni in their cecal droppings through 7 weeks. Two successive flocks from the same Campylobacter-positive broiler house were monitored for Campylobactercolonization. Campylobacter jejuni prevalence rates were determined for each flock. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR and 23S rRNA-PCR typing methods were used to group isolates. A high prevalence (60%) of C. jejuni in flock 1 coincided with the presence of an RAPD profile not appearing in flock 2, which had a lower rate of prevalence (28%). A 23S rRNA-PCR typing method was used to determine if strains with different RAPD profiles and different prevalence rates contained different 23S sequences. RAPD profiles detected with higher prevalence rates contained a spacer in the 23S rRNA region 100% of the time, while RAPD profiles found with lower prevalence rates contained an intervening sequence less than 2% of the time. Data suggest varying colonizing potentials of different RAPD profiles and a source other than previously used litter as a means of transmission of C. jejuni. These molecular typing methods demonstrate their usefulness, when used together, in this epidemiologic investigation. ER -