Data from: Monitoring chicken flock behaviour provides early warning of infection by human pathogen Campylobacter

Campylobacter is the commonest bacterial cause of gastrointestinal
infection in humans and chicken meat is the major source of infection
throughout the world. Strict and expensive on-farm biosecurity measures
have been largely unsuccessful in controlling infection and are hampered
by the time needed to analyze faecal samples with the result that
Campylobacter status is often known only after a flock has been processed.
Our data demonstrate an alternative approach that monitors the behaviour
of live chickens with cameras and analyses the ‘optical flow’ patterns
made by flock movements. Campylobacter-free chicken flocks have higher
mean and lower kurtosis of optical flow than those testing positive for
Campylobacter by microbiological methods. We show that by monitoring
behaviour in this way, flocks likely to become positive can be identified
within the first 7-10 days of life, much earlier than conventional on-farm
microbiological methods. This early warning has the potential to lead to a
more targeted approach to Campylobacter control and also provides new
insights into possible sources of infection that could transform the
control of this globally important foodborne pathogen.