Prevalence of extra-intestinal porcine helminth infections and assessment of sanitary conditions of pig slaughter slabs in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania

Abstract

A study was carried out to establish the prevalence of extra-intestinal porcine helminth infections and to assess the pig slaughter slab sanitary conditions in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania. A total of 24 privately owned pig slaughter slabs were assessed. All slaughter slabs were sub-standard; wrongly located, poorly designed and constructed and lacked most basic requirements for a slaughter house. Because of inadequate slaughtering, disposal and cleaning facilities, the slaughter slabs were under unhygienic condition with questionable safety, soundness and wholesomeness of the pork produced. Routine meat inspection procedures were used to detect extra-intestinal porcine helminth infections. Of the 731 examined pigs; 8.1%, 5.9% and 0.4% were infected with ascariosis, porcine cysticercosis and hydatidosis, respectively. It was noted that almost all slaughter pigs in Dar es Salaam originated from different regions. Based on the region of origin, the status of porcine cysticercosis was 8.2% for Dodoma (n = 98), 8.2% for Manyara (n = 260) and 6.9% for Mbeya (n = 116). This study disclosed the unhygienic sanitary condition prevailing in Dar es Salaam pig slaughter slabs and recommends that strategies should be devised to improve the situation. Porcine ascariosis and cysticercosis were widely prevalent and caused economic losses due to condemnations. Because of their zoonotic nature, the observed extra-intestinal porcine helminth infections in pig pose a public health risk among consumers. Thus, there is a need to introduce appropriate control measures of parasitic infections in pigs.

Slaughter stock abattoir survey of carcasses and organ/offal condemnations in Arusha region, northern Tanzania

“…Up to 4.03% of slaughtered pig had their liver condemned due to liver ascariasis. Studies by Ngowi et al (2004) and Mkupasi et al (2010) reported higher prevalence rates of liver ascariasis than the current study in other regions in Tanzania. Such difference in prevalence may again be contributed by limitations of abattoir records, pig management systems and diagnosis methods used.…”

“…This rate is lower than 5.9% reported in Dar es Salaam slaughter slabs (Mkupasi et al 2010). Abattoir survey carried out in 1995 in northern Tanzania showed a prevalence ranging from 4.5% to 37.7% (Boa et al 1995).…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Human Taenia Solium Infections in Mbozi District, Mbeya Region, Tanzania

“…Transportation of pigs and pork from rural cysticercosis endemic areas increases the risk of transporting infected and diseased pigs/pork into non-endemic urban areas for slaughter/sell as evidenced by [13] who found 5.9% of pigs brought into Dar es Salaam for slaughter were infected with T. solium by routine meat inspection. This has important epidemiologic implications for the country regarding transmission of cysticercosis/taeniosis especially in urban areas where pig keeping is not practiced but pork consumed.…”

“…In Tanzania T. solium is considered widespread in the northern, central, and southern regions based on porcine cysticercosis surveys [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. These surveys provide initial evidence that T. solium infection is of national importance.…”

The Serological Survey for Human Cysticercosis Prevalence in Mbulu District, Tanzania

“…The free range system of keeping pigs, lack and or improper use of latrines, clandestine slaughtering and marketing of pork, absence of pork inspection and barbecuing [21][22][23], further increase the risk of human cysticercosis infection in Tanzania populations'. With the reported high risks of human cysticercosis, studies mainly have been reporting porcine cysticercosis [1,6,21,24]. The few studies that report cysticercosis infections in human are based on neuro cysticercosis particularly to people with epilepsy [2,25].…”