Prevalence of arcobacter species in shell hens' eggs sold in Assiut Governorate [electronic resource].

Includes references.

One hundred and fifty commercial shell hens' eggs (30 groups) were collected at random from farmers' houses and poultry farms (15 groups each) in Assiut Governorate and examined for the prevalence of Arcobacter species. The obtained results revealed that Arcobacter species were isolated from 11(36.7%) samples of each egg shells and contents. These microorganisms were recovered from 6.66 and 66.66% of egg shell samples collected from farms and farmers houses respectively. A. butzleri (6.66%) was the only species that could be isolated from farms samples, while, A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii were detected in percentages of 6.66, 46.66 and 13.33 % from egg shell samples of farmers' houses. A. cryaerophilus was the most prevalent species followed by A. skirrowii and A. butzleri in samples of farmers' houses. In case of egg contents samples, the incidence of Arcobacters was 26.66 % for farms and 46.66 % for farmers' houses. Also, it is evident that A. butzleri was detected in 6.66 % of egg contents samples collected from both farms and farmers houses. The higher percentage was related to A. cryaerophilus which isolated from 20.0 and 26.66 % of the examined samples, respectively. A. skirrowii ranked second comprising 13.33 % of egg contents samples of farmers' houses. The public health implications and suggestive measures for improving the hens' eggs quality were discussed.

Summary in Arabic.