Abstract

Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB) is a devastating zoonotic disease with extended influence on animals' productivity, economy and public health. Over three years, a total of 30,841 slaughtered animals (11,389 cows and 19,452 buffaloes) were surveyed for the presence of tuberculous lesions by post-mortem examination in El-Mahalla El-Kubra abattoir in Mid-Delta of Egypt. The overall prevalence of tuberculous lesions among all the slaughtered carcasses was 0.7% (219/30841). Lungs were the most common organ showed tuberculous lesions in cows with a prevalence of 0.24% (27/11389). However, tuberculous lesions were predominately detected in the intestine of buffalo carcasses with a prevalence of 0.45% (87/19452). There was no significant difference associated with either the annual pattern of BTB prevalence or seasonal variation for the two species over the 3 years of the study. Direct economic losses associated with the condemnation of 3105 Kg of meat and 162.5 Kg of liver due to tuberculous lesions was valued as 197,675 EGP (28544.3 USD). Majority of abattoir’s veterinarians injured accidentally during meat inspection at least once a week, yet they never use gloves for protection and some of them won’t cover their wound (42.9%) or even use antiseptics (57.1%). Reported carcasses with BTB lesions may pose a potential public health hazards either for abattoir’s workers or for public consumers when infected carcasses accidentally enter the food chain. Integrated disease surveillance, control of unauthorized slaughtering outside the abattoirs and educational training of veterinarians regarding occupational hazards and protective measures are urgently recommended in attempts to control such infections in the study region.

Key words: Bovine Tuberculosis, Abattoir survey, High-risk practices, Zoonoses