An open seminar on the Campy-on-Ice project and the fight against Campylobacter will be held on Thursday 27 May at 9-13 at Matís' headquarters at Vínlandsleið 12 in Reykjavík.
The seminar will discuss the measures taken in the wake of the Campylobacter epidemic in people in 1999 and the results achieved with these measures.
When the sale of fresh chicken was allowed in Iceland in 1996, the consumption of chicken meat increased significantly. Three years later, there was an explosion in the number of Campylobacter cases in humans. Extensive measures were taken to counter this trend.
The most important action was and still is to freeze all chickens infected with Campylobacter before slaughter. Samples are taken from all groups of chickens a few days before slaughter. If they are infected, the chickens are frozen, but freezing reduces the number of bacteria, so people are less likely to become infected through consumption.
The "Campy-On-Ice" study, which began about 10 years ago, was an extensive collaborative project between Canada, the United States and Iceland, and the Food Administration, Matís, Keldur, the Directorate of Health and the Department of Pathology at Landspítali were representatives of the country in this study. The research was multifaceted and the results varied. The seminar will review the main findings, which were used in infection control and improved the effectiveness of defending infection in birds and humans.
Following the "Campy-On-Ice" project, another project called the "Fly netting Project" was created, which began in 2008. It involves covering the ventilation chimney of poultry houses with fly nets, but flies are known carriers. This seminar will also review this research and present the results, which have already attracted attention abroad.
The symposium concludes with a luncheon hosted by chicken producers in honor of Ruff Lowman for his invaluable contribution to the project. The seminar will be held in Icelandic and English and the program will be as follows:
09:00 - 09:10 Sentence
09:10 - 09:25 History of campylobacter in Iceland for 10 years - Sigurborg Daðadóttir
09:25 - 09:40 Campylobacter infections and epidemiology in humans
- Hjördís Harðardóttir and Guðrún Sigmundsdóttir
09:40 - 10:00 "Campy-On-Ice" practical use for poultry producers - Jarle Reiersen
10:00 - 10:15 Coffee break
10:15 - 12:00 "Campy-On-Ice" Canada - "Fly netting" - Ruff Lowman
12:00 - 13:00 Party in honor of Ruff Lowman
The seminar will be held in Matís' new premises at Vínlandsleið 12, 113 Reykjavík on the 3rd floor on Thursday 27 May and starts at 9:00.
For further information, contact Hjalti Andrason at Matvælastofnun, hjalti.andrason@mast.is.