Public Health and Economics of Condemnation:

Survey of Lung and Liver diseases of bovines in Khwisero, KenyaNanyingi O .Mark 1§, Koballa O. Alfred 1, Ongili O.

Humphrey1, Okello M. Christopher1, Kipsengeret K. Benard2 , Kisenge K. Edward3 , Asaava .Lucas4

1 Ministry of Livestock and Development, District Veterinary Office, PO BOX 60 -50135, Khwisero, Kenya2 Center for Public Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute P.O Box 20752-00202 Nairobi3 National Disaster Operation Center, Epidemiology Unit, PO Box 48956-00100 Nairobi4 Ministry of Livestock and Development, District Veterinary Office, PO BOX 129 Garissa, Kenya

§Corresponding author and Presenter : NMO, mnanyingi@gmail.com, Tel: +254 721 117 845

KVA WESTERN SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE AND CONTINUOS PROFESSIONAL DEVEL0PMENT :

25th FEBRUARY 2011GOLDEN INN HOTEL, KAKAMEGA

BACKGROUND: The control of livestock diseases remains a challenge due to inadequacy and unreliability of veterinary services in rural areas, this is exacerbated by shortage of veterinary staff, insufficient funding ,lack/poor transport facilities, and limited diagnostic facilities and drugs[Mellau et al ., 2010; Nanyingi et al., 2010]

Emerging diseases hinged on climate change phenomena may contribute to a widespread prevalence of zoonotic diseases . Lack of enforcement of relevant laws provides animals for slaughter that harbour chronic or subclinical infections which are rarely detected during antemortem examination.

Many abattoirs and slaughter slabs in Kenya including Khwisero have poor meat inspection facilities and shortage of qualified meat and certified abattoir inspectors. The standard practice to condemn diseased carcasses or organs wholly or partially, for health and aesthetic reasons is an economic drawback.

Zoonotic diseases such as tuberculosis, hydatidosis, cysticercosis, Rift Valley fever and toxoplasmosis may emanate from ineffective and unskilled meat inspection coupled with poor record keeping, irregularities in practice (bribery) to pass unhygienic meat for public consumption.

The economic importance of zoonoses is due to the condemnation of edible carcasses and offals such as liver, lung and heart . Condemned organs or even the whole carcass represent a high financial loss to small scale traders in Khwisero.

The abattoir may serve as a source of invaluable information on the incidence of animal diseases and conditions of zoonotic importance. Animals with sub-clinical infections may be detected at slaughter and the true picture of these diseases and conditions could be documented and made available to public.

In Kenya few reports have documented the prevalence and economic importance of organ or carcass condemnation in slaughtered bovines in small scale abattoirs.

Justification

Objectives:

GOAL: Provision of evidence on the importance of abattoir records could assist in the design of epidemiologic interventions of animal and human zoonotic diseases to safeguard human health.

AIM: Investigate the prevalence of disease and conditions due to condemnation of offals (Lung and Liver) in slaughter slabs in Khwisero district during a 12-month period in 2010.

Estimate the economic loss due to the condemnation of these organs.

Materials and Methods : Study area

Category C slabs

Study design

The study was a prospective abattoir survey, undertaken for a period of 12 months from January 2010 to December 2010.

Inclusion criteria for selection of cases :

During this period daily slaughter figures were obtained from all the 9 slaughter slabs as routinely inspected by the 3 officers in charge and abattoir operator records.

Exclusion criteria

Back yard, home slaughter were considered significant but due to traceability logistics the data was unreliable.

Materials and Methods : (2)

Post Mortem Examination:

Consumption

Routine meat inspection visits were made to all (9)licensed abattoirs from January to December 2010.

During each visit, visceral organs particularly the lung, liver, spleen, heart and kidneys were systematically inspected by visual inspection, palpation and incisions and the number of hydatid cysts per organ determined.

Gross diagnosis of diseased organs was based on pathological changes of organ colour, size, morphology, consistence, presence of lesions and parasites at predilection sites .

Aggregated daily records were compiled by meat inspectors as monthly reports for incidence of diseases or conditions of the condemned organs .

Data were cleaned and entered in Excel (MS).

Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using the STATA (version 10) software.

The data were summarized as frequency tables and graphs .

All statistically analysis were performed at 95 % CI (P<0.05).

Data Collection and Analysis

Total bovine organ condemnations in Khwisero abattoirs in 2010

Condemned Organs N (1249)

Head and Tongues 0(0.00)

Hearts 137(10.97)

Kidneys 98(7.85)

Livers 515(41.23)

Lungs 387(30.98)

Spleens 112(8.97)

Total 1249

2003 (av.5.48), Number (%) of organs condemned

Lung N (387) Liver N(515)

Disease/condition Disease/condition

Abscess 17( 4.39) Abscess 20(3.88)

Haemorrhages126(32.2

6)Cirrhosis/degeneration

140(27.18)

Echinoccocus cysts 10(2.58) Echinoccocus cysts 19(3.69)

Pleurisy 64(16.54) Fascioliasis 282(54.7

6)

Pneumonia 70(18.09)Stelesia hepatica 0(0.00)Parasites/worms 12(3.10) Telengiectasis 33(6.41)

Congestion 32(8.27) Hepatomegally 7(1.36)

Emphysema 56(14.47) Milky spot 10(1.94)

Haemorrhages 4(0.74)

Total 387 515

Major causes of lung and Liver condemnations in Khwisero abattoirs

Disease/condition Number (%) of lungs and Livers condemned

ESTIMATED ANNUAL ECONOMIC LOSS (ksh)

The economic loss has been calculated on the basis of wholesome and intact visceral organs i.e. Lung and liver. The average price of each organ was Ksh.180 and 300 respectively in the year 2010.Annual Loss Ao = (Nps × Pv × Clv) + (Nps × Pu × Clu)

(Yemane, 1990) Nps: Total number of Livers,

Pv: Prevalence of liver diseases/conditions , Pu: Prevalence of lung diseases/conditions , Clv: Cost of Liver, Clu: Cost of Liver

Annual Loss (Ao)= (515 × 0.412 × 300) + (387 × 0.309× 180)

= Ksh 85,289 (≈ $ 1200)

Organs prevalence : Liver were the organs most commonly infected 515(41.23), this could be due to the fact that lungs and livers posses the first great capillaries sites encountered by the migrating echinococcus oncosphere which adopt the portal vein route and primarily negotiate hepatic and pulmonary filtering system[Kebede et al., 2009].

LIVER: Fascioliasis [(282(54.76)] was the leading cause of condemnations. Prevalence of hydatidosis was insignificant at 19(3.69), might be due to less contact between few stray dogs with the herd and humans in the study area [Getaw et al., 2010]. Effective dog depopulation measures.

The rarity of some lesions (stilesia hepatica) would suggestthat they are likely to be of minor concern and would beexpected to appear only sporadically.

DISCUSSION

LUNGS: Pneumonia was the leading cause of condemnations at 70(18.09). Emphysema was significant 56(14.47), its normally secondary to diseases like ECF which is endemic, it can cause air to be forced into interlobular septa.

Possible aetilogy of emphysema : Most slaughterhouses lack of stunning facilities and using of the same place for slaughter and bleeding, may subject the slaughtered animal to stress before slaughter.

Hydatidosis was relatively insignificant at 10(2.58) compared to with stable wildlife-domestic animal interphase areas with large dog demographics. Dogs are the definitive host for E. granulosus, the possibility for environmental contamination. The proportion of large medium and small size cysts was higher in the lung than in the liver.(P<0.001).

DISCUSSION [2]

Inability to acquire the exact records on breed, sex and age for each slaughtered animal due to poor recording systems at the abattoir. The epidemiologic implication of hydatidosis might be attributed to chronicity of the disease which explains the statistical insignificance.

Logistical challenge to precisely trace back the geographical origins of all the animals slaughtered due to lack of reliable animal identification method making it difficult to accurately estimate Fascioliasis which is associated with wet areas where the animals may be outsourced.

Gross pathological diagnoses may be unreliable due to eroding skills; therefore incase of inconclusive diagnosis suspect specimens need to submitted to nearest VIL for confirmatory diagnosis of conditions detected during meat inspection.

Study Caveats

This prevalence study was based on meat inspection but was insensitive at definitive diagnosis , inspite of a good attempt by the meat inspectors in locating lesions at organ predilection sites as noted by Asaava et al ., 2009

The study showed that different lung and liver diseases/lesions in cattle are prevalent in Khwisero. There is a need to introduce appropriate control measures of zoonotic to minimize the rate of infection and reduce the ensuing economic losses.

Efficient meat inspection service should function as an important monitoring agent in the control of animal diseases with considerable economic and public health significance. A staff base expansion is overdue [Nanyingi et al., 2010]

Indicators and Suggestions:

Economic Model (Nanyingi et al ., 2010)

The establishment of well equipped standardized abattoirs, Staff recruitment, creation of public awareness (KAP)in control of animal diseases in order to minimize the risk of zoonotic infections is of paramount for public health.

Improved market for beef and its products can only be safeguarded by the implementation SPS strategies geared to adoption of improved detection methods for diseases and the integration of other stakeholders such as health workers, veterinarians, meat inspectors and the community.

A feedback from the abattoirs to the public of great value in preventive medicine. The data obtained from this survey cannot be wholly relied upon as accurate, but it can be used as a baseline for more extensive epidemiological investigations.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATIONS

These study was enabled and conducted with the willingness and cooperation of abattoir workers and owners of the slaughtered animals.

The authors are indebted to the Provincial Director of Veterinary Services, Western Kenya, Director of Veterinary Services and Ministry of Livestock Development for their cooperation and accepting to use the records as data for this paper.

All contributions from the audience are gratefully acknowledged and welcomed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

SELECTED BIBILOGRAPHY Asaava LL, Kitala PM, Gathura PB, Nanyingi MO, Muchemi G & Schelling E (2009) A survey of bovine cysticercosis/human taeniosis in Northern Turkana District, Kenya. Prev Vet Med . 89, 197–204.

Getawa A, Beyenea D, Ayanab D, Megersac B, Abunnac F. Hydatidosis: Prevalence and its economic importance in ruminants slaughtered at Adama municipal abattoir, Central Oromia, Ethiopia. Acta.Trop. 113 (2010) 221–225

Kebede, W., Hagos, A., Girma, Z., Lobago, F., 2009. Echinococcosis/hydatidosis: its prevalence, economic and public health significance in Tigray region, North Ethiopia. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 41, 865–871.

Mellau L.S.B,.Nonga H.E , Karimuribo E.D, A slaughterhouse survey of lung lesions in slaughtered stocks at Arusha, Tanzania. Pre Vet. Med, 97 (2010) 77–82)

Nanyingi M.O, Koballa A.O, Okello C.M, Ongili H O, Bushuru T, Mulala F.J. Veterinary Public Health in Khwisero District, Kenya - Success, challenges, and possibilities. In Proceedings of 44th KVA Scientific Conference, Garissa Kenya (April 2010)

Yemane, G., 1990. Preliminary study of Echinococcosis in ruminants slaughtered at Adama abattoir. DVM Thesis. Addis Ababa

University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia.

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