Helicobacter pullorum in chickens, Belgium

A total of 110 broilers from 11 flocks were tested for Helicobacter pullorum by polymerase chain reaction; positive samples were reexamined with a conventional isolation method. H. pullorum isolates were examined by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting for interstrain genetic diversity and relatedness. Sixteen isolates from cecal samples from 2 different flocks were obtained. AFLP analysis showed that these isolates and 4 additional isolates from a different flock clustered according to their origin, which indicates that H. pullorum colonization may occur with a single strain that disseminates throughout the flock. Strains isolated from different hosts or geographic sources displayed a distinctive pattern. H. pullorum is present in approximately one third of live chickens in Belgium and may represent a risk to human health.