SOUTHEAST ASIAN J TROP MED PUBLIC HEALTH 96 Vol 43 No. 1 January 2012 Correspondence: Prapas Patchanee, Veterinary Public Health Center for Asia Pacific (VPH- CAP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Mae Hia, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. Tel: +66 (0) 53 948073 ext 15; Fax: +66 (0) 53 348065 E-mail: prapas.pat@cmu.ac.th, patprapas@ gmail.com CAMPYLOBACTER IN CHICKEN CARCASSES AND SLAUGHTERHOUSES IN MALAYSIA Saira Banu Mohamed Rejab 1 , Karl-Hans Zessin 2 , Reinhard Fries 3 and Prapas Patchanee 4 1 Department of Veterinary Services, Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia; 2 Department Panel, Veterinary Public Health, Freie University Berlin; 3 Institute of Meat Technology and Hygiene, Freie University Berlin, Germany; 4 Veterinary Public Health Center for Asia Pacific (VPHCAP), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand Abstract. This study was conducted to determine the Campylobacter contamination rate of chicken carcasses and the processing lines of modern processing plants in Malaysia. Three hundred sixty samples were collected from 24 flocks of broiler chickens at 12 modern poultry processing plants in 6 states of Malaysia. Fresh fecal droppings were collected from crates in the arrival area. Neck skin samples were taken from processed chicken carcasses at 3 different processing stages: before inside-outside washing, after inside-outside washing and post chilling. Swab samples from the scalding tank, chilling tank and conveyer belt before chilling were also collected to determine contamination with Campylobacter in the slaughter house environment prior to slaughter. Isolation for Campylobacter was performed following ISO 10272-1:2006(E). The overall of contamination rate with Campylobacter at the 12 plants was 61.0% (220/360). Eighty point six percent of the samples from before the inside-outside wishing step were contaminated with Campylobacter, as were 62.5% of the samples after the inside washing and 38.9% after the post-chilling step. This study shows extensive contamination of chicken carcasses and slaughtering houses in Malaysia with Campylobacter. Keywords: Campylobacter, chicken carcasse, slaughterhouse, Malaysia INTRODUCTION Campylobacter is a serious food-borne human pathogen and a common cause of gastroenteritis (Saleha et al, 1998). Its route of transmission to humans is most com- monly through ingestion of raw or under- cooked poultry meat or milk, through pets and contaminated water (Ahmed, 2002). Most Campylobacter infections are caused by Campylobacter jejuni or Campylobacter coli (Anonymous, 2003). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the USA found Campylobacter, at an in- fectious dose as low as 500 organisms, is the most common bacterial cause of diar- rheal illness in the United States, causing more illness than Salmonella and Shigella combined (Meer and Misner, 1998). One