The identification of <i>Campylobacter</i> contamination in chicken meat sold for human consumption in the Eşme district using nested PCR

The Eşme district was chosen for this study based on food safety concerns in the area. Campylobacter spp. are the most prevalent bacteria responsible for food-borne bacterial diseases globally and are present in significant amounts in fowl gut flora. There are few effective methods for identifying Campylobacter in environmental samples, making it challenging to identify the cause of Campylobacter infections on chicken farms. Research on methods of identifying Campylobacter infections is therefore needed, particularly in areas where livestock husbandry is the main source of income. Due to the low bacterial concentration in samples and the possibility of uncultivable or fatally damaged bacterial stages, Campylobacter is difficult to identify in environmental samples using standard culture techniques. Furthermore, sensitivity is reduced because of the use of selective media. In this study, a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using hippuricase and 16S rRNA primers was employed to identify Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in 55 chicken meat samples from the Eşme district. The sensitivity, specificity, and utility of PCR for detecting C. jejuni and C. coli in samples are examined.