Simultaneous Detection of Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes and Shigella in Poultry Samples by Triplex PCR

Raw poultry is one of the important sources of major foodborne bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Shigella. In this study, we developed and evaluated a triplex PCR method for simultaneous detection of three foodborne bacterial pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Shigella, with high specificity and sensitivity. A total of 502 samples were collected from chicken abattoirs, processing plants and retail vendors in Tai’an, Shandong Province of China, and used for the validation of a triplex PCR method. Results showed that Salmonella, L. monocytogenes and Shigella were detected in 26.9%, 6.2% and 5.2% of samples respectively. Our results demonstrate that the triplex PCR method can be used routinely to detect Salmonella, L. monocytogenes and Shigella during the poultry processing procedures in order to reduce the risk of foodborne disease outbreaks.