dc.description.abstract |
Abattoir is a special facility designed and licensed for receiving, holding, slaughtering, and
inspecting meat animals before releasing to public consumption. The aim of the current
study was to assess existing abattoir facilities and practices and to evaluate bacterial loads
on carcass and in-contacts in abattoirs of the West Amhara region, Ethiopia. A crosssectional
study
was
conducted
from
November
2020
to
October
2021.
Data
were
collected
using
a
questionnaire
survey,
personal
observations,
and
swab
samples.
Systematic
random
sampling
technique
was
employed
to
obtain
swab
samples;
while
simple
random
sampling
was
used to recruit study participants for interview. A total of 192 swab samples were
collected, and 68 abattoir workers were interviewed. Laboratory analysis, semi-structured
questionnaire, and personal observation checklist were data collection tools employed.
Bacterial load was assessed by using the serial dilution method. Microsoft excel spreadsheet
and SPSS version 23 were used for data management and analysis. The study revealed that
none of the abattoirs had a veterinary laboratory, separated lairage for different species,
chilling room, and by-product collection rooms. Furthermore, there were no any sterilization
and equipment disinfection, hot water service, and movement restriction practices in any of
the abattoirs. Out of 68 abattoir workers, 41/68 (63.2%) were not trained, 37/68(54.4%) had
no medical checkups, 35/68 (51.5%) had no personal protective equipment (PPE). About
72.1% (49/68) of abattoir workers believe that the municipality is responsible for
environmental hygiene and waste management outside abattoirs. Only 38.2% (26/68) and
35.3 (24/68) of abattoir workers know about zoonosis and foodborne diseases respectively.
The highest and lowest mean total aerobic counts of 7.1, (7.1±1.5) log
10
CFU/cm
, and 4.6
(4.6±1.8) log
10
CFU/cm
2
, were found on carcasses and hooks respectively. The highest and
lowest mean value of total aerobic counts were found from Injibara municipal abattoir,
7.4+1.6 log
10
CFU/cm
2
, and the Gondar ELFORA abattoir, 5.1+1.1 log
10
respectively. Shortage of basic abattoir requirements; little knowledge of abattoir workers
on zoonoses and foodborne diseases; while there are considerable bacterial loads on carcass
and in-contacts calls for awareness, training, and further investigation of zoonotic bacteria
and implementation of prevention measures.
2
CFU/cm
2 |
en_US |