Prevalence of Tuberculosis among Livestock Slaughtered for Human Consumption: A Jos Abattoir Based Study

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a zoonotic and infectious granulomatous disease of virtually all vertebrates caused by the bacterial genus, Mycobacterium. Previous studies have shown that both humans and livestock like cattle, sheep and goat are susceptible to both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis. This retrospective study determined the prevalence of tuberculosis among these livestock slaughtered at Jos abattoir for human consumption between 2006 and 2012, which were potential sources of humans infections. It also determined the yearly and month-wise distribution of the prevalence of tuberculosis, and compared the prevalence among the study species. Seven-year abattoir entries were collated. All the prevalence were calculated using Microsoft Excel, and further subjected to Chi-square test for establishment of statistical significance using Graph-pad Prism. Lesions suggestive of tuberculosis were found in 5,726 (2.22%) animals (cattle: 5,504, sheep: 74, goat: 148) out of the 257,553 (cattle: 64,091, sheep: 72,004, goat: 121,458) slaughtered during the study period. Yearly prevalence was highest (4.21%) in 2011, and lowest (1.76%) in 2006. Month-wise prevalence for the study period was highest (3.24%) and lowest (1.37%) in November and April respectively. Prevalence in cattle, sheep and goat were 8.59%, 0.1% and 0.12% respectively. This study reported high prevalence of tuberculosis among livestock slaughtered for human consumption in the abattoir. We therefore recommend that the appropriate authorities should intensify efforts in public awareness on the dangers of consuming tuberculosisinfected meat, establish active surveillance network, and enforce active and thorough meat inspection.