Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Molecular Detection of Campylobacter in Farmed Cattle of Selected Districts in Bangladesh

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in selected districts of Bangladesh to estimate prevalence, risk factors, and molecular detection of <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates from 540 farmed cattle of 90 herds. As an individual sample, 540 feces, and as a pooled sample, 180 milk samples, 90 feed samples, 90 water samples, 90 manure samples, and 90 animal attendants' hand-rinse water were collected and tested via culture, biochemical, and molecular assays. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect herd-level data on risk factors with the herd owners. The herd-level data on risk factors were analyzed through univariate and multivariate analyses, and a <i>p</i>-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses. Overall, farm-level prevalence of bovine <i>Campylobacter</i> was enumerated to be 53.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 42.5-63.9%). The feces sample was found to be a high level of contamination of 30.9% (95% CI: 27-35%) followed by the manure swab (pooled) at 15.6% (95% CI: 8.8-24.7%). <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> was documented as an abundant species (12.6%), followed by <i>Campylobacter coli</i> (5.1%), and <i>Campylobacter fetus</i> (0.3%). Older farms (>5 years of age), no/minimum cleaning and disinfection practices, along with animal roaming outside of the farm, were documented as significant risk factors for farm-level <i>Campylobacter</i> occurrence. Evidence-based control measures need to be taken through stringent biosecurity and hygienic measurement to lessen the load of the <i>Campylobacter</i> pathogen in the farm environment and prevent further transmission to animals and humans.