The test kit contains all materials and reagents needed for testing, requires no prior enrichment step or additional laboratory equipment, and can thus be completed on-site, at the farm. Results are displayed in a clear yes/no format and available within two hours, allowing financially relevant logistical decisions to be made earlier. A built-in control reaction ensures greater accuracy.

It is critical to test poultry for Campylobacter before slaughter as the bacteria can spread to an entire flock in a matter of a few days and render earlier results misleading. The Singlepath Direct Campy Poultry Kit allows screening for Campylobacter immediately prior to slaughter, which enables financial decisions, such as the separation of Campylobacter highly positive (>10⁷ CFU per g faeces) and lower risk flocks for slaughter, to be made on the basis of up-to-date information.

The Singlepath kit can be used on-site, which represents a significant advantage over conventional methods that require shipment of samples for laboratory analysis and several days wait time for results. With on-site testing, the kit eliminates the need to outsource or invest in capital-intensive instrumentation.

Detection of Campylobacter requires 48 hours by standard microbiological methods and three hours by real-time PCR. Both methods must be performed in the laboratory and real-time PCR methods require additional capital-intensive instrumentation, which means samples must be shipped to a lab. Transporting samples to the lab adds at least a day to turnaround time and increases the risk of false negatives if transportation conditions are inadequate. Additionally, real-time PCR detects Campylobacter at 1,000 to 10,000 times lower than the 10 million Campylobacter per gram consumer infection level, which can lead to positive results that provoke over-reaction.

“The occurrence of Campylobacter in food is responsible for millions of food-borne illness cases,” annually,” said Charlotte Lindhardt, Product Manager Lateral Flow Tests, Merck Millipore. “New policies, which focus on prevention rather than contamination response, are being implemented to protect consumers. The Singlepath® kit helps shift that focus to prevention and achieve faster, reliable results without the need for a laboratory, expensive instrumentation or skilled staff.”

For more information about the Singlepath® Direct Campy Poultry Kit, click here.