Role of slaughter facilities management in zoonoses and safety of meat produced for human consumption in Nigeria: a review

Abstract

This study attempts to review the role of slaughter facilities management of all zoonotic diseases encountered at the abattoirs as well as the safety of meat produced for public consumption in abattoirs in Nigeria. Good hygienic practices were totally absent in the abattoirs. There were dilapidated slaughtering and processing facilities, inadequate clean water supplies, no refrigerators and lack of facilities for the collection and storage of waste. Zoonotic agents demonstrated in slaughtered animals in Nigeria include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Leptospira species, Campylobacter species, Yersinia species, Clostridia species., Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, and Salmonella spp. Other disease-causing infectious agents encountered at the abattoirs include Echerichia coli O157, Salmonella and Campylobacter species. The meat transportation is done by motor bike, wheel barrows and open vehicles and this become sources of physical contamination.