Prevalence and risk factors of fasciolosis in a bovine population from farms in Taiping, Malaysia.

Fasciolosis is a zoonotic disease, considered an emerging neglected tropical disease threatening ruminant productivity and causing economic losses. Controlling fasciolosis is challenging due to the complex life cycle of Fasciola, which involves snail intermediate hosts. The high rainfall status in Taiping makes it an optimal region for snail abundance, which increases the opportunity to complete Fasciola's life cycle. Previous studies showed that liver condemnation caused by fasciolosis was highly prevalent in the Taiping abattoir compared to other investigated main abattoirs of Peninsular Malaysia. Therefore, the present study determined the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis and risk factors in farms from Larut and Matang (Taiping), Malaysia. Sampling was carried out from February until August 2020. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 371 fecal samples from bovines (dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo) were examined from 23 farms selected based on location, farmer consent, and history of anthelmintic usage. Animal's intrinsic and farm management details were recorded, and interview sessions were conducted with farmers to collect information on the potential risk factors. Individual fecal samples were examined for the presence of Fasciola egg using Flukefinder® sedimentation. There was moderate prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in Taiping (36.9%, n = 137/371). Significant risk factors (p < 0.05) were observed, which include buffalo group (OR = 9.5, 95% CI: 9.44-9.55), age of >3 years (OR = 5.5, 95% CI: 5.43-5.57), thinner animals with body condition score of 1 to 4 (OR = 1.2-14.9, 95% CI: 1.09-15.08), and larger grazing area (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.30-1.31). Additional risk factors include the presence of more than one ruminant species in the same farm (OR = 2.0-2.1, 95% CI: 2.00-2.22), extensive housing system (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 3.77-4.23), farm age (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.20-1.21), and also co-infection with Paramphistomes (OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.10-1.71). The present study underscores the importance of local bovine fasciolosis epidemiology, which could be used to conduct future veterinary and public health programmes to inform effective parasitic management aimed at reducing the prevalence of fasciolosis.

Condemnation of Porcine Carcasses: A Two-Year Long Survey in an Italian High-Throughput Slaughterhouse.

Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection at slaughter are performed by Official Veterinarians and it is essential to identify alterations/lesions, which can make organs/carcasses unsuitable for human consumption. Obviously, carcass condemnation must be regarded as a highly undesirable event for the entire swine industry chain, as it represents the total failure of a long period of challenging work. Therefore, it seems valuable to estimate the prevalence and causes of carcasses condemnation, in order to preserve consumers' health and pig farming profitability. Bearing that in mind, the present study aimed at providing a reliable picture of the condemnation of porcine carcasses in Italy, with a special emphasis being placed upon pathological findings. Data were collected in a high-throughput abattoir located in northern Italy, where a total of 2,062,278 pigs were slaughtered during the period of study (2021-2022). Overall, 1362 pigs were considered unfit for slaughtering after ante-mortem inspection, mostly because of death during transportation or in resting pens, after their arrival at the abattoir. Moreover, 2007 carcasses were condemned after post-mortem inspection. The most common causes of condemnation were severe and diffuse peritonitis, disseminated abscesses, jaundice, and erysipelas. In our opinion, the present survey may provide useful and updated information about the condemnation of pig carcasses in Italy. At the same time, it highlights the need to collect data in a more systematic and standardized way, thus making possible their comparison over time and among different geographic areas.

Macroscopic sarcocystosis in a pig carcass from an Italian abattoir.

Different food-safety institutions, including the European Food Safety Authority, encourage monitoring and characterising Sarcocystis spp. in animals and foodstuffs; among meat-producing animals, domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) can host two different Sarcocystis spp., that is Sarcocystis miescheriana and the zoonotic Sarcocystis suihominis. Herein, we report for the first time the presence of macrocysts of Sarcocystis miescheriana in a domestic pig resulting in carcass condemnation. In North-West Italy, in June 2022 the carcass of a clinically healthy sow was condemned due to the detection of multifocal macroscopic whitish fusiform lesions. Affected muscle samples were submitted to histological and molecular analyses targeting the mtDNA cox1 and 18S rRNA genes. At gross examination and histology, well demarcated, oval or elongated macrocysts up to 8 mm in length characterized by a calcified central core surrounded by fibrosis were detected. The molecular amplification and sequencing of the cox1 mtDNA and 18S rRNA genes revealed the presence of Sarcocystis miescheriana DNA in all sampled macrocysts. Our study provides the first molecularly confirmed case of Sarcocystis miescheriana infection in a domestic pig in Italy. The present report highlights the need to increase data related to the occurrence and the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in meat-producing animals, and in wild and domestic pigs in particular, taking into account the zoonotic potential of Sarcocystis suihominis and the possible financial losses related to carcass discard due to macroscopic Sarcocystis spp. cysts.

Ante-mortem and Post-mortem Inspection and Relationship between Findings in a North Albanian Pig Slaughterhouse.

In June 2014, Albania was granted EU candidate status, thus starting a process of compliance with the membership criteria. In this context, a modern meat inspection approach in line with the European legislation was applied to a pig slaughterhouse in northern Albania in order to investigate the ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) conditions and the relationship between these findings. For this purpose, 3930 pigs divided into 35 batches were evaluated over a 3-month period. The most frequent AM conditions recorded were tail lesions and dyspnea (9.1%), followed by skin (8.9%) and ear lesions (8.5%), while in the PM inspections, pleuritis was the most frequently observed condition (10.2%), followed by pneumonia (8.5%), liver alterations (5.7%), milk spot liver (3.8%), and pericarditis (3.3%). With the exception of liver alterations, the other PM lesions mentioned were positively associated with lesions on the ears (OR = 1.036; p < 0.001) and skin (OR = 1.026; p = 0.011) and dyspnea (OR = 1.021; p = 0.005), confirming the link between these variables and the health and welfare conditions of pigs on farms. Overall, the evidence that emerged from this Albanian slaughterhouse can be considered in line with other European contexts, especially in light of the considerable variability in the data present in the literature.

Fasciolosis prevalence, risk factors and economic losses due to bovine liver condemnation in abattoirs in Mexico.

This study investigated the prevalence of bovine liver condemnation due to Fasciola hepatica in abattoirs and its influence on livestock productivity. It also explored risk factors such as season, breed, age and sex in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico. A total of 5281 cattle livers were inspected in two abattoirs. The overall prevalence of the parasite in cattle throughout 2020 was 24.9% (1313 out of 5281). The highest prevalence was found in Veracruz (28.5%; tropical climate), followed by Puebla (18.4%; temperate climate). The prevalence of fluke infection during the wet season was 19.0% and 25.8% in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, respectively; during the dry season, this was 18.0% and 30.2% respectively. The annual loss caused by condemnation of the liver for both abattoirs was estimated to be US$7502. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, two models were constructed for potential association with the prevalence of condemned livers, using season, breed, age and sex as risk factors. The results indicate that season, age and sex were significantly associated with an increased risk of parasitic infection. Cattle age was the variable most strongly associated with F. hepatica infection, with the highest prevalence in cattle over three years of age as compared to younger animals, both in the states of Veracruz with a tropical climate (OR 6.443; 95% CI: 4.487-9.251) and in Puebla with a temperate climate (OR 2.854; 95% CI: 1.531-5.321). The results indicate that different factors were significantly associated with the prevalence of condemned livers, and it highlights the importance of continuous monitoring programmes for F. hepatica infection and preventing economic losses in cattle production.

Data evaluation of broiler chicken rearing and slaughter-An exploratory study.

To process and evaluate the data from broiler fattening and slaughtering, we investigated the production data of 107 straight run flocks of the commercial meat-type breed Ross 308 (Aviagen, EU). All flocks were raised and slaughtered in Germany and the average slaughter age was 37 days. The health outcomes of interest were mortality, average weight, and the slaughter results. First-week mortality, cumulative mortality, stocking density, flock size, season, production week of the parental flock, farm, antibiotic treatment, and the interaction between antibiotic treatment and season were considered as possible influencing factors. The average first-week mortality (FWM) and cumulative mortality percentages were 0.66 and 2.74%, respectively. First-week mortality was influenced by flock size, production week of the parental flock, and the interaction between antibiotic treatment and season, whereas cumulative mortality was influenced by antibiotic treatment, farm, and first-week mortality. The average weight (mean 2.30 kg) was influenced by season, stocking density, flock size, farm, and the interaction between antibiotic treatment and season. The condemnation rate was on average 1.48%, with the most common causes being deep dermatitis (mean 0.63%), ascites (mean 0.53%), and not suitable for production/general disease (mean 0.25%). Several factors influenced the causes of condemnation, with season being the most predominant one, followed by the interaction between antibiotic treatment and season, the antibiotic treatment alone, and stocking density.

Comparative Study of the Use of Doxycycline and Oxytetracycline to Treat Anaplasmosis in Fattening Lambs.

Lamb icteric carcasses condemnation due to Anaplasma ovis is causing relevant economic losses. A comparative study was developed on the effects of different antibiotics to treat ovine anaplasmosis in fattening lambs. A total of 100 A. ovis naturally infected lambs were selected and randomly divided into four groups of 25 lambs: Group ID, treated with injectable doxycycline; Group OD, oral doxycycline; Group O, injectable oxytetracycline; and Group C, untreated animals for the control group. Clinical, haematological, and molecular analyses were performed before the treatment and 12 and 45 days after the beginning of the treatments, and carcass condemnation was followed after slaughter. The A. ovis bacterial load was high before the treatments in the four groups and decreased significantly 45 days after treatment in the ID and O Groups (p < 0.001). The parameters that were related to haemolysis showed similar results. At the abattoir, 15 out of the 47 examined carcasses were condemned; 7 of C Group, 6 of OD Group, 2 of O Group, and 0 of ID Group. It can be concluded that injectable doxycycline and oxytetracycline significantly reduce A. ovis bacterial load in blood and carcass condemnation at the abattoir. Further studies are needed in order to confirm these encouraging findings.

Investigation of Factors Associated with Leg Trimmings at Processing: A 12-Year Review.

Gastrocnemius tendon injury or rupture is a common consequence from various etiologies and conditions in poultry production. The occurrence of tendon injury can cause significant morbidity and lameness in chickens, as well as quality downgrades and increased trimming on carcasses at processing. In this study, 12 yr of data from a poultry processing plant on leg trim only were compiled and analyzed. The association between grower, season, shift, and time were investigated in relation to the prevalence of ruptured tendons and carcass condemnations. A total of 8585 separate data entries from 195 growers were analyzed. Problem flocks were defined as those that had a carcass trimming rate of the percentage change equal to or above the 95th percentile of all data points (0.603%). We identified 430 instances of high trimmings in this study period, involving 90 growers. Of those, eight growers had 10 or more problem flocks in the study period. Overall, there were no differences in trimming rates due to shift; however, problem flocks had a higher trimming rate (percentage) during the night shift. A significantly higher rate of carcass trimmings was noted in the winter months. In problem flocks, a second and lower peak of a higher trimming was also observed in August. There was an upward trending carcass trimming that peaked in 2014, and it trended downward each year through 2020 overall. However, when the problem flocks were excluded, the trimming rate percentage change of trimming decreased slightly from 2008 to 2012 and remained steady through 2020. In conclusion, this study was able to demonstrate noninfectious causes that may be associated with increased leg trimmings and consequently made it possible to narrow down management practices to help decrease the instances of leg trimmings in the processing plant.

Nota de investigación- Investigación sobre los factores asociados con recortes de patas en la planta de procesamiento: Revisión de 12 años. La lesión o ruptura del tendón del gastrocnemio es una consecuencia común de varias etiologías y condiciones en la producción avícola. La aparición de lesiones en los tendones puede causar una morbilidad y cojeras significativas en los pollos, así como una disminución de la calidad y un mayor recorte de las canales en el procesamiento. En este estudio, se recopilaron y analizaron datos de 12 años de una planta de procesamiento avícola con relación al recorte de patas únicamente. Se investigó la asociación entre criador, temporada, turno y tiempo en relación con la prevalencia de tendones rotos y decomisos de canales. Se analizaron un total de 8,585 entradas de datos independientes de 195 productores. Las parvadas problemáticas se definieron como aquellas que tenían una tasa de recorte de la canal del cambio porcentual igual o superior al percentil 95 de todos los puntos de datos (0.603%). Se identificaron 430 instancias de altos recortes en este período de estudio, involucrando a 90 productores. De ellos, ocho productores tuvieron 10 o más parvadas problemáticas en el período de estudio. En general, no hubo diferencias en las tasas de recorte debido al turno; sin embargo, las parvadas problemáticas tuvieron una mayor tasa de recorte (porcentaje) durante el turno de la noche. Se observó una tasa significativamente mayor de recortes de canales en los meses de invierno. En las parvadas problemáticas, también se observó un segundo pico menor en el incremento de recorte en agosto. Hubo una tendencia al alza en el recorte de las canales que alcanzó su punto máximo en 2014 y tuvo una tendencia a la baja cada año hasta el año 2020 en general. Sin embargo, cuando se excluyeron las parvadas problemáticas, el cambio porcentual de la tasa de recorte disminuyó levemente de 2008 a 2012 y se mantuvo estable hasta 2020. En conclusión, este estudio pudo demostrar causas no infecciosas que pueden estar asociadas con un aumento en el recorte de patas y, en consecuencia, hizo posible reducir las prácticas de manejo para ayudar a disminuir los casos de corte de patas en la planta de procesamiento.

A European survey on post-mortem inspection of finishing pigs: Total condemnation criteria to declare meat unfit for human consumption.

Meat inspection (MI) is essential to verify compliance with legal requirements related to human and animal health and animal welfare protections. Judgement criteria applied during MI, resulting in condemnation data of importance, among other things, for livestock producers and for benchmarking reasons. However, although the Meat Inspection Regulation sets out judgement criteria, most are generic, favouring flexibility, but also subjectivity. To address the degree of variation on total condemnation (TC) criteria applied during post-mortem inspection (PMI) of finishing pigs, an online survey was prepared aiming to collect this information from several European countries. The focus was on TC criteria regarding the following PMI findings: abscesses, arthritis, cachexia, erysipelas, icterus, Mycobacterium-like lesions, osteomyelitis, peritonitis, pleuritis and pneumonia. From September to November 2020, a total of 44 completed questionnaires were obtained from 26 European countries. The results showed a substantial variation in the TC criteria in place in the participating countries. One of the main reasons for the variability seen in the respondents' reported answers was related to the indicators used to define a generalised condition related to the 10 PMI findings addressed, making harmonisation a challenge and avoiding to draw conclusions when comparing condemnation causes between abattoirs. This implies that it would make sense to look into how a generalised condition can be identified/described and how it should be judged. The results should be used as inspiration towards possible harmonisation, improving decision-making, and permitting comparative analysis between different reports to allow trend analyses and benchmarking.

Analysis of bovine postmortem condemnation data in France: Contributions from a comprehensive and standardised information system at the slaughterhouse.

BACKGROUND: The condemnation of carcases and offal unfit for human consumption is a regulatory requirement at the slaughterhouse. Condemnation data, if comprehensive and standardised, can be a valuable source of information for risk-based inspection and decision making. METHODS: The aim of this study was to analyse postmortem condemnation data that were recorded in all bovine slaughterhouses in mainland France from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020 in a comprehensive and standardised information system. The rates of and reasons for condemnation, as well as factors influencing rate variation, were investigated through descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: The global, total and partial condemnation rates were 4.5%, 0.7% and 3.8% for adult cattle and 1.4%, 0.3% and 1.1% for calves, respectively. Reasons for condemnation varied with the animal category; for example, the three main reasons for total condemnation in adult cattle were serous infiltration of connective tissue (49% of condemned animals), congestive peritonitis (12.2%) and fibrinous peritonitis (10.9%), whereas the top three reasons for partial condemnation were unique abscess (21.9%), haemorrhagic infiltration (20.6%) and muscular sclerosis (17.4%). Condemnation rates were influenced by animal-related factors (sex, age, type of breed) and slaughterhouse-related factors (status, type, slaughter volume). CONCLUSION: Our findings could usefully contribute to the continuous improvement of the harmonisation of inspection decisions and support the risk manager's strategy in the modernisation of official controls at the slaughterhouse.

Macroscopic, Histological, and Microbiological Characterization of Contact Lesions at the Tibiotarsal Region of Broilers.

Brazil is considered as a great broiler feet exporter, especially for the Chinese trade. Contact lesions at the tibiotarsal region are responsible for economic losses and there is no model for its classification, thereby this study presents a fast and practical grade system to be used in the poultry industry and proposes these lesion characterizations into three different grades. For this, correlation was made between macroscopic, histological findings and microbiological quantification (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and sulphite-reducing clostridia) from contact lesions in the tibiotarsal region of 112 broiler carcasses, divided in four groups (n=28), accordingly to the lesion's intensity. There were no significant differences in microbiological quantification among the groups (p>0.05) except for the grade 3 group, as grade 1 and 2 lesions were in the early stages and histopathological changes such as ulceration were not observed. In grade 3 lesion group, it was observed bacterial cocci grume and ulceration at the articular region and significantly higher microbiological count (p<0.05) for E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. In conclusion, the visual standard proposed in this work, correlated and confirmed by the histopathologic, and microbiologic characterization, allows to precise and fast ascertainment of the contact lesion grade in the tibiotarsal regions of broiler carcasses. Moreover, it should be highlighted that grades 1 and 2 alterations are not caused by an inflammatory process caused by pathogenic agents and should not be considered a public health risk.

Applying Bipartite Network Analysis and Ordination Technique to Evaluate Long-Term Data from Veterinary-Sanitary Examination of Slaughtered Pigs.

Animal and meat inspections in abattoirs are important in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Veterinary inspections in abattoirs can provide useful data for the management of health and welfare issues of humans and animals. Using the network analysis and ordination technique, in this study, we analyzed the data from 11 years of veterinary inspections in pig slaughterhouses from 16 regions in Poland. Based on the huge data set of 80,187,639 cases of diseases and welfare issues of pigs, the most frequent livestock diseases were identified to be abscesses, soiling, faecal or other contaminations, and congestions, which together accounted for 77.6% of the total condemnations. Spatial and temporal differences in swine diseases between the Polish regions were recognized using the above-mentioned statistical approaches. Moreover, with the use of a quite novel method, not used yet in preventive veterinary medicine, called a heatmap, the most problematic disease and welfare issues in each region in Poland were identified. The use of statistical approaches such as network analysis and ordination technique allow for identification of the health and welfare issues in slaughterhouses when dealing with long-term inspection data based on a very large number of cases, and then have to be adopted in current veterinary medicine.

Feral Swine Commercial Slaughter and Condemnation at Federally Inspected Slaughter Establishments in the United States 2017-2019.

Feral swine populations in the United States (US) are capable of carrying diseases that threaten the health of the domestic swine industry. Performing routine, near-real time monitoring for an unusual rise in feral swine slaughter condemnation will increase situational awareness and early detection of potential animal health issues, trends, and emerging diseases. In preparation to add feral swine to APHIS weekly monitoring, a descriptive analysis of feral swine slaughter and condemnations was conducted to understand the extent of commercial feral swine slaughter in the US at federally inspected slaughter establishments and to determine which condemnation reasons should be included. There were 17 establishments that slaughtered 242,198 feral swine across seven states from 2017 to 2019. For all 17 establishments combined, feral swine accounted for 63% of slaughtered animals. A total of 23 types of condemnation reasons were noted: Abscess/Pyemia, Arthritis, Contamination, Deads, Emaciation, General Miscellaneous, Icterus, Injuries, Metritis, Miscellaneous Degenerative & Dropsical Condition, Miscellaneous Inflammatory Diseases, Miscellaneous Parasitic Conditions, Moribund, Nephritis/Pyelitis, Non-ambulatory, Pericarditis, Pneumonia, Residue, Sarcoma, Septicemia, Sexual Odor, Toxemia, and Uremia. Exploratory analysis was conducted to determine which condemnation reasons should be included for weekly monitoring. For most condemn reasons, weeks of unusually high condemnations were noted. For example, a period of high pneumonia condemnations occurred from December 2, 2018 through February 3, 2019 with a spike on January 6, 2019 and a spike in dead swine occurred on November 3, 2019. The seasonal impacts on limited quality food resources, seasonal variation in the pathogen(s) causing pneumonia, and harsher weather are suspected to have an impact on the higher condemnation rates of pneumonia and dead swine during the winter months. Based on condemnation frequencies and the likelihood of enabling situational awareness and early detection of feral swine health emerging diseases, the following were selected for weekly monitoring: abscess/pyemia, contamination/peritonitis, deads, emaciation, injuries, miscellaneous parasitic conditions, moribund, pneumonia and septicemia. Detection of notable increases in condemnation reasons strongly suggestive of foreign animal or emerging diseases should contribute valuable evidence toward the overall disease discovery process when the anomalies are both confirmed with follow up investigation and combined with other types of surveillance.

Occurrence of genes associated with virulence in Escherichia coli isolates from chicken carcasses at different stages of processing at a slaughterhouse.

Escherichia coli is a bacterium frequently found in chicken carcasses, causing carcass condemnation with losses to the industry and when present in food, it carries a risk to public health as there is evidence that some strains pathogenic to birds (APEC - Avian Pathogenic E. coli) have zoonotic potential. Carcass contamination can occur at the slaughterhouse, but the influence of the different stages of processing in the selection of potential extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strains is unknown. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the processing steps in the slaughterhouse on the detection of E. coli isolates carrying APEC predictor's virulence-associated genes (VAGs), and to relate their presence with post-mortem condemnation. A sample consisted of four pooled carcasses collected at seven different stages of slaughter (before scalding, after scalding, after plucking, before evisceration/after shower wash, after evisceration, after pre-coolers, and after packing) from 15 batches of broilers. The total samples obtained was 105 pools with four carcasses each, totaling 420 carcasses analyzed. Enterobacteriaceae were counted from each pool and E. coli were subsequently selected, which were submitted to pentaplex PCR to identify the five VAG APEC predictor's: iroN, ompT, hlyF, iss, and iutA. The Enterobacteriaceae count demonstrated a reduction of 4.25 log CFU per gram of carcass from the first to the last stage analyzed, with scalding and pre-cooling by immersion being the procedures that contributed most to this reduction. The presence of VAGs and potential APEC (presence of two or more of these gene predictors) was observed at all points evaluated in the slaughterhouse, which suggested that bacteria carrying these genes could reach the consumer.

Atypical Manifestation of Cutaneous Fowlpox in Broiler Chickens Associated with High Condemnation at a Processing Plant.

The present case is an unusual report of cutaneous fowlpox with an atypical appearance and incidence in broilers. Gross skin lesions were noticed in 41-day-old commercial broilers during the veterinary inspection at a processing plant in the north of Iran. The skin lesions were only observed on feathered skin areas of the broilers and remained unnoticed until slaughter. Round, nodular or coalescent, elongated, reddish-brown proliferative lesions were mainly located on the back, thighs, and proximal areas of the neck of broilers. Nonfeathered skin, including the wattle, comb, eyelids, and legs, were not affected. This condition incurred high losses due to a 5.3% condemnation and trimming of carcasses. Cutaneous lesions were sampled for histopathology and molecular virology for further investigations. Histopathology revealed multifocal necrotic dermatitis with epidermal eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the skin lesions. Molecular investigations confirmed the presence of fowlpox virus (FWPV) in the proliferative lesions, with further investigations identifying two FWPV genome populations, one carrying a portion of the reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) and the other a nearly complete REV provirus. Furthermore, the 4b core protein gene-based molecular analysis clustered the field virus into clade A of the genus Avipoxvirus.

Reporte de caso- Manifestación atípica de viruela aviar cutánea en pollos de engorde asociada con altas de decomisos en una planta de procesamiento. El presente caso es un informe inusual de viruela aviar cutánea con apariencia e incidencia atípicas en pollos de engorde. Se observaron lesiones severas cutáneas en pollos de engorde comerciales de 41 días durante la inspección veterinaria en una planta de procesamiento en el norte de Irán. Las lesiones cutáneas solo se observaron en las áreas de piel emplumada de los pollos de engorde y pasaron desapercibidas hasta el procesamiento. Las lesiones proliferativas redondas, nodulares o coalescentes, alargadas, de color marrón rojizo se localizaron principalmente en el dorso, los muslos y en las áreas proximales del cuello de los pollos de engorde. La piel sin plumas, incluidos las barbillas, la cresta, los párpados y las piernas, no se vio afectada. Esta condición generó grandes pérdidas debido a un 5.3% de decomisos y recorte de canales. Se tomaron muestras de las lesiones cutáneas para histopatología y virología molecular para investigaciones diagnósticas. La histopatología reveló dermatitis necrótica multifocal con cuerpos de inclusión citoplasmáticos eosinófilos epidérmicos en las lesiones cutáneas. Las investigaciones moleculares confirmaron la presencia del virus de la viruela aviar (FWPV) en las lesiones proliferativas, con investigaciones adicionales que identificaron dos poblaciones del genoma del virus de la viruela aviar, una que portaba una porción del virus de la reticuloendoteliosis (REV) y la otra con un provirus del virus de la reticuloendoteliosis casi completo. Además, el análisis molecular basado en el gene de la proteína del núcleo 4b agrupó el virus de campo en el clado A del género Avipoxvirus.

Comparison of Liver Condemnation and Bile Microscopy As Tools to Estimate Fasciola hepatica Prevalence and Burden in the Anta Province of Cusco in Peru.

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic infection linked to significant economic losses in the livestock industry. Infection prevalence and estimated financial burden vary across locations owing to different diagnostic tests used. The accuracy of liver condemnation to estimate the prevalence and costs of fascioliasis has seldom been evaluated. We performed a pilot study to determine the prevalence and burden of Fasciola hepatica infection among cattle slaughtered at the municipal abattoir in the Anta province of the Cusco highlands in Peru. We compared liver condemnation with bile microscopy for the diagnosis of infection and prediction of carcass weight. Data were collected from 2009 slaughtered cattle for 1 year. The overall prevalence of Fasciola infection by bile microscopy was 62.5% (1247/2009). A higher prevalence was observed after the rainy season from March to August than from September to February (p < 0.01). Fascioliasis prevalence during the first 6 months was 77.4% (714/923), combining the results of condemnation and microscopy. Bile microscopy diagnosed more infections than liver condemnation (62.7% (579/923) versus 55.4% (511/923), McNemar test p < 0.01). The agreement of the bile microscopy testing with liver condemnation was fair (κ = 0.247). Animal age, gender, breed, and liver condemnation predicted carcass weight [F (df 4, 704) = 61.1, p < 0.001]. Liver condemnation and bile microscopy are complementary tools for evaluation of the prevalence and burden of fascioliasis in livestock. Large scale studies are warranted to confirm our results.

Effects of age, weight, and housing system on prevalence of dead on arrival and carcass condemnation causes in laying hens.

Causes of condemnation and dead on arrival (DoA) birds were studied at the slaughterhouse and effects of age, BW, and housing system were investigated. A total of 1,156 (0.18%) birds were found DoA and 20,754 carcasses out of 629,331 (3.30%) were condemned during postmortem inspection. The main reasons for condemnation were peritonitis, septicemia, salpingitis, emaciation, and tumors. The mean percentages of condemnation by septicemia and emaciation differed according to age and BW groups and were more common in batches of younger (≤87 wk) and lighter (≤1.88 kg) birds. Moreover, peritonitis and ascites differed significantly between age groups, occurring more frequently in batches of older hens. The presence of tumors of the reproductive system was more frequently observed in older and heavier hens. This result raises the possibility of tumors being correlated with the higher number of prior ovulatory events. The total condemnation rate was lower in hens from organic systems, followed by free-range, and differed significantly from barns and cage systems. Carcasses with ascites and peritonitis were found more commonly in hens from cages and barns and both differed significantly from organic systems. Salpingitis was statistically more prevalent in barns, presenting differences from organic and free-range systems. Monitoring condemnation causes of end-of-lay hens at slaughter provided a better understanding of health and welfare issues in different housing systems and allowed to identify potential welfare problems, which can be used to improve management and welfare on farms.

A study on causes of cattle liver condemnation at an abattoir in Omdurman area, Khartoum State, Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Information obtained from abattoirs on the causes of liver condemnation is important in preventing the spread of diseases and for promoting food security. The current study reviews three years (2009 to 2011) postmortem inspection records of cattle slaughtered at an abattoir in Omdurman, Khartoum State, Sudan. The aim was to determine the prevalence of diseases and conditions that lead to liver condemnation. RESULTS: From a total of 234,175 cattle slaughtered, 8,910 (3.8%) livers were condemned due to several diseases/conditions mainly fasciolosis, cysticercosis, necrosis, abscess, calcification, hemorrhages, liver cirrhosis, hydatidosis, and other miscellaneous causes. Collectively, fasciolosis was the leading cause of liver condemnation and was responsible for 51.6 % of total liver condemnations followed by necrosis (18.6%), and cysticercosis (13.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Because of their zoonotic nature, the observed high frequency of some detected diseases/conditions is thought to pose a public health risk among consumers. This survey could be used as a regional baseline for future monitoring of control programmers against these liver diseases.

Prevalence of fasciolosis (Liver flukes) infection in cattle in Zamfara, Nigeria: A slaughterhouse surveillance data utilizing postmortem examination.

Bovine fasciolosis, caused by Fasciola gigantica (F. gigantica) and rarely F. hepatica, is an economically important disease affecting cattle in tropical Africa. The aims of this study were to determine a year prevalence of bovine fasciolosis and correlate determinants of infection in slaughtered cattle at the municipal abattoir in Zamfara, Nigeria. Fasciola gigantica was detected in 15% (1740/11,562) cattle slaughtered during a daily postmortem examination (PME) between November 2016 and October 2017. This approach demonstrated an increase risk of liver fluke infection in older cattle (p = 0.001, AOR = 1.476, 95% CI: 1.188-1.832) and during rainfall (p = 0.003, AOR = 1.604, 95% CI: 1.176-2.187). Liver condemnation had been significantly found in hot-dry season (p ≤0.001, AOR = 0.518, 95% CI: 0.417-0.643) and adult cattle (p = 0.003, AOR = 1.726, 95% CI: 0.586-0.899). This study is an account of bovine fasciolosis prevalence and infection dynamics in part of the northwest region of Nigeria, which provides preliminary information for further studies to guide the design of appropriate control steps to lower the impact of the disease and safeguard public health.

The association between meat inspection codes, footpad lesions and thinning of broiler flocks in the Danish broiler production.

The foundation of the condemnation practices in Post-Mortem Inspection (PMI) of poultry should be based on up-to-date scientific evidence about the cause of infection and hence whether the lesions observed are of food safety, animal health or welfare concerns. This study aimed to investigate the association between meat inspection codes, footpad lesions, and thinning of flocks in Danish broiler production. The data set was based on the delivery of chicken flocks to one of the two larger chicken slaughterhouses in Denmark, representing 71 farms, 174 houses, and 4,068 flocks over three years from January 2016 to December 2018. Post-mortem condemnation data of slaughtered chickens recorded and stored in the Danish Quality Assurance System (KIK) database was used in the study. Five potentially causal models were developed to investigate whether there was an association between dermatitis, arthritis, systemic infection, emaciation, mortality and possible explaining factors` (footpad lesion, age at slaughter, scratches, ascites, systemic infection and thinning of the flock). These five ecological logistic regression models were analyzed with the three levels: farm, house, and flock. Data from a total number of 126,137,002 (N) slaughtered chickens recorded in KIK databases were used for modeling and analyses. The prevalence of condemned carcasses was 1.1 % (n = 1,420,812). Overall, 12 individual reasons for condemnation of carcasses were recorded. The most frequently observed reason for condemnation was skin disease (scratches and dermatitis) with a prevalence of 0.5 %. Prevalence of ascites was 0.2 %, discoloration 0.09 %, emaciation 0.09 %, hepatitis 0.09 % and arthritis 0.07 %. In the first model, dermatitis was shown to be positively associated with age at slaughter with an OR = 1.04 (CI95 %: 1.02-1.05), while arthritis was considered an intervening variable. Moreover, there was a small protective effect of thinning of the flock for first and second delivery. There was a positive association between arthritis and age at the time of slaughter with an OR = 1.13 (CI95 %: 1.12-1.15). Systemic infections were associated with scratches with an OR = 24.5 (CI95 %: 16.6-36.3) and footpad lesions with an OR = 1.007 (CI95 %: 1.006-1.008). Further modelling of emaciation and mortality was not considered because of unbalanced groups in the data probably caused by the fact that some condemnation codes were rare. We observed that the most common causal factors of condemnation in the systemic infection models were scratches and footpad lesion, therefore preventing and controlling such lesions could reduce losses. Specific management and environmental etiological factors of the main infections causing condemnation in Danish broilers should be determined.