article · Animal and Veterinary Sciences
An investigation into livestock across abattoirs in Adikpo, Otukpo, and Makurdi revealed an overall Sarcocystis infection prevalence of 52.0 per cent among 75 examined carcasses. Pigs demonstrated the highest infection rate at 73.3 per cent, with cysts most frequently detected in heart tissue and skeletal muscle. Evaluations of abattoir facilities showed inadequate infrastructure, with over 43 per cent of butchers processing animals directly on the floor. In addition, surveys revealed critical gaps in food safety knowledge and practices among meat handlers. Approximately 67.5 per cent of respondents stated an inability to recognise diseased animals or infected meat, and over 76 per cent had never received formal training in safe meat handling. Rather than discarding infected carcasses entirely, nearly 66 per cent of vendors simply cut away visibly affected portions, underscoring substantial zoonotic transmission risks within local meat supply chains.
Sarcocystis is a parasitic zoonotic pathogen capable of causing foodborne illness in humans. Inadequate abattoir infrastructure, combined with a widespread lack of hygiene training among meat sellers, allows infected animal tissue to enter the food supply. Identifying these local abattoir deficiencies is essential for guiding public health interventions, establishing veterinary inspection routines, and improving food safety standards to prevent meat-borne disease outbreaks in urban and rural populations.
The abstract does not describe a commercial product or technical invention, remaining focused on epidemiological survey data and abattoir assessments. However, the findings highlight an immediate need for training programmes in safe meat handling and standardised inspection protocols. Public health bodies, municipal abattoir managers, and veterinary extension services could use these insights to design certified education courses and upgraded slaughterhouse facilities, though any operational deployment would require practical programme design and policy implementation.
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Meat-borne zoonotic diseases are becoming an increasing public health concern as a result of unprecedented interaction between animals and humans and deteriorating sanitation and hygiene around meat processing facilities. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and morphology of sarcocysts isolates found in various tissues meat animals and investigate practices by butchers and meat sellers that are potential risk for human infection. A total of 75 carcasses of ruminant animals comprised of 15 Cattles, 15 Goats and 45 pigs were sampled from abattoirs in Adikpo, Otukpo and Makurdi. Animal parts were examined macroscopically, for gross pathological lesions. Organs were thoroughly inspected for the presence of Sarcocystis species macrocysts and histologically examined using Haematoxylin and Eosin Technique. Structured questionnaire was designed and administered to investigate butchers and meat sellers’ meat safety-related knowledge and practices. An abattoir checklist was used to evaluate abattoirs based on the presence and functionality meat handling processes and infrastructures. The overall prevalence of sarcocystis was 52.0% with pigs accounting for the highest infection of 73.3% (χ2=4.77 P=0.092). In all the animal tissues sampled, sarcocystis cysts were most predominant in the heart 49.33% and muscles 36.00%. Animals slaughtered in Makurdi and Adikpo abattoirs had higher sarcocystis prevalence though the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Abattoir slaughter slabs are inadequate with 47.5% of butchers slaughtering and portioning their animals on slabs while 43.1% do same on the floor inside or outside the abattoirs. While 33.5% of butchers self-reported the capacity to identify diseased and infected meat, in contrast 67.5% indicated inability to identify diseased animals or infected portions of meat. There was no significant association between the ability to identify meat- or animal-borne diseases and location (χ2=6.31 P=0.177). Furthermore, 76.3% of respondents have never undergone any formal training in safe meat handling procedures, 85.2% reported that such training is essential to reduce associated risks of contamination (χ²=6.86; p=0.032). A significant 65.7% of respondents merely cut off and discard perceived infected portion of meat while only 1.7% self-reported reported ever discarding whole carcass (χ2=51.52; P=0.000). The study underscores the urgent need for targeted health education, improved abattoir management, and routine veterinary inspections to mitigate public health risks posed by Sarcocystis infection in this region.
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DOI: 10.11648/j.avs.20251306.15
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