Abstract:
A survey was conducted in Jimma municipal abattoir from October 2010-January 2011 to evaluate the
effectiveness of the routine meat inspection procedure as compared to the detailed inspection method in
detecting BTB (bovine tuberculosis) suggestive lesions and concomitantly to determine the prevalence of BTB
on the basis of post mortem inspection and Zihel-Neelsen microscopy. Carcasses of seven hundred eighty
randomly selected cattle were inspected through both methods. Analysis of the data revealed that 21 (2.7and
95%; CI, 1.5-3.8%) had BTB suggestive lesions using detailed inspection; while it was detected only in 2
carcasses (0.3and 95%; CI,-0.1-0.6%) by the routine method. Thus, the routine inspection method missed most
of the carcasses with BTB suggestive lesions (90.5%) and the agreement between the detailed and routine meat
inspection methods was slight (Kappa=0.17). The mean time spent to inspect a carcass (1.2min±0.4) by the
routine method was virtually five times shorter than the detailed method (5.8min± 1.9). There was a statistically
significant difference (P < 0.05) in the mean time spent to inspect each carcass between the two methods. ZihelNeelsen stained smears that were directly made from twenty one suspected tuberculosis lesions showed eight
acid fast bacteria positive. There was a moderate agreement between the detailed meat inspection and ZihelNeelsen staining methods (Kappa=0.54). In conclusion, the routine meat inspection has limitations in detecting
BTB suggestive lesions. Consequently, people who used to consume raw meat might be at risk of acquiring
BTB infection. Hence, due attention should be given to redress the concern.
