Campylobacter infections in children exposed to infected backyard poultry in Egypt

Campylobacteriosis is a zoonotic disease which has a worldwide public health impact. The disease is endemic in Egypt; however, the epidemiology in animals and humans has not been fully characterized. The objective of this study was to compare the risk of Campylobacter faecal carriage in children exposed to Campylobacter-infected vs. non-infected backyard poultry and to identify risk factors for a backyard being classified as infected. A total of 103 households which owned backyard poultry were sampled from a rural community in Egypt. Within these households 379 poultry and 106 children were tested for C. jejuni and C. coli; 23.5% and 5.5% of poultry were positive for C. jejuni and C. coli, respectively. In the studied households; 12.3% of children were positive for C. jejuni, and 2.8% were positive for C. coli. Using logistic regression, households with poultry positive for C. jejuni had 3.86 (95% confidence interval 1.0-15.0) times the odds of having children positive for C. jejuni compared to those housed with poultry which all tested negative. Backyard poultry may present a transmission route of C. jejuni to children. Backyards with poor cleaning and disinfection, wet litter and manure disposed of within the backyard had increased odds of being positive for C. jejuni. Enhancing biosecurity and management in poultry backyards may reduce the risk of the disease.