Colonization properties of Campylobacter jejuni in chickens.

Campylobacter is the most common bacterial food-borne pathogen worldwide. Poultry and specifically chicken and raw chicken meat is the main source for human Campylobacter infection. Whilst being colonized by Campylobacter spp. chicken in contrast to human, do scarcely develop pathological lesions. The immune mechanisms controlling Campylobacter colonization and infection in chickens are still not clear. Previous studies and our investigations indicate that the ability to colonize the chicken varies significantly not only between Campylobacter strains but also depending on the original source of the infecting isolate. The data provides circumstantial evidence that early immune mechanisms in the gut may play an important role in the fate of Campylobacter in the host.