Genomic diversity, virulence and source of Campylobacter jejuni contamination in Irish poultry slaughterhouses by whole genome sequencing

The aim was to exploit WGS to assess genomic diversity, identify virulence genes and deduce the proportion of Campylobacter colonised broilers that directly contaminate their carcasses. The results will further inform broiler processors and regulators about the influence and importance of on-farm infection versus cross-contamination and the relationship between C. jejuni in caeca and carcasses during processing.