Ridsdale, J.A.* and Corry, Janet E.L.
Dept of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

To detect a wide variety of Campylobacter and Arcobacter species in ducks, various isolation methods were used. Ten oven-ready duck carcasses and the caecal contents of eight ducks, all 50 days old at slaughter, were examined. Samples were plated before and after enrichment in Lab M Campylobacter Enrichment Broth with cefoperazone, amphotericin, teicoplanin (CAT) or the original Lab M supplement), either directly or after filtration, varying incubation temperature and atmosphere.

For initial characterisation, API-Campy Test Strips and the Preston Phenotypic Identification Scheme, were used. Where inconclusive results were obtained, a more comprehensive phenotypic identification scheme, analysing the results by numerical analysis, was required. In addition, SDS-PAGE of whole cell proteins was used to compare isolates with reference strains.

Species isolated from carcasses (in descending order of frequency) were Campylobacter coli, Arcobacter cryaerophilus, A. butzleri, C. jejuni subsp. jejuni, and A. skirrowii and isolated from caecal contents (in descending order of frequency) were C. upsaliensis, C. coli, C. jejuni subsp. jejuni, A. cryaerophilus and A. butzleri. C. upsaliensis was found in caeca, but not on carcasses, whereas other Campylobacter species were found both in the caeca and on carcasses and to our knowledge, C. upsaliensis has not been reported in any other poultry.