The global prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in milk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Contamination of dairy products such as milk by Campylobacter species can occur due to faecal contamination and incomplete pasteurisation or post-pasteurisation steps. Studies describing the contamination of milk with Campylobacter species were retrieved by searching in international general and specific databases between January 2000 and May 2021. The pooled prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in milk (from 49 included studies), meta-analysed using a random effect model, was estimated as 4% (95% CI 3-6%), with highly severe heterogeneity (93.58%). Different types of Campylobacter and detection methods showed that subgroup analysis cannot explain the high heterogeneity and presence of Campylobacter in milk. However, in the case of continents, a meta-analysis showed that prevalence of Campylobacter in two subgroups of Asia and Europe is a conclusive result. Due to the unavoidable occurrence of Campylobacter, the health risks of raw milk can effectively be avoided only by heat treatment of milk before consumption. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Contamination of dairy products by Campylobacter species is primarily caused by fecal contamination and incomplete pasteurization. A meta-analysis of studies conducted between January 2000 and May 2021 showed a pooled prevalence of 4% (95% CI 3-6%) for Campylobacter spp. in milk, with significant heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis revealed a conclusive result regarding the prevalence of Campylobacter in Asia and Europe. Heat treatment of milk is recommended to effectively avoid health risks associated with Campylobacter contamination.