ABSTRACT

The health of the public has been a matter of concern and this necessitated the carrying out of a study on the public health implications of slaughter house at Umuahia Central abattoir in Abia State. Information and data were collected using structured questionnaire, distributed to butchers. Direct interview was done with veterinary personnel in charge of carcass inspection, staff of epidemiology unit of Ministry of Agriculture. Laboratory analysis of slaughter house specimens (meat and water) was done at the National Veterinary Laboratory in Umudike. Personal visit to the slaughter house for assessment of facilities available to butchers. The data was analyzed using simple descriptive statistical methods such as percentage which was presented on tables. Some pictures were taken at the abattoir which were shown in plates. Personal observation revealed that there were no adequate slaughtering facilities and therefore preconditioning of the animal before slaughtering was not achieved. There was also evidence of poor sewage disposal system to the extent that slaughter house users resorted to surface dumping. Results from the questionnaire showed that the major contaminants of meat include rodents/vermin, poor transport facilities, dirty water source, cold storage treatment, poor drainage facilities etc, while results from the slaughter house specimens showed heavy meat contaminants by Escherchia coil, Salmonella spp, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus spp. This study requires an urgent attention to reduce the outbreak of food-borne disease and to prevent man from consuming contaminated meat