Diagnostic efficacy of abattoir meat inspection for detecting bovine tuberculosis at Adama municipal abattoir, Ethiopia

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is endemic in Ethiopia and like other developing countries in Africa. Ethiopia has limited laboratory and other diagnostic facilities. Therefore, abattoir inspection still remains the only option for monitoring BTB prevalence in domestic animals. However, information regarding the efficacy of such routine abattoir (RA) inspection is limited. The present study was conducted on 500 slaughtered cattle heads, slaughtered at the Adama municipal abattoir, Ethiopia from December 2009 to April 2010 to elucidate the efficacy of RA inspection with respect to the detailed abattoir (DA) inspection, bacteriological isolation, and PCR. Diagnostic accuracy of the RA inspection was determined by calculating sensitivity and specificity. The agreement between both the inspection protocols was determined by using kappa statistics. Results showed that there was a moderate agreement between the two inspection protocols (kappa = 0.43) conducted at Adama municipal abattoir, Ethiopia. The sensitivity and specificity of RA were 57.14 [CI 28.92–82.24] and 71.79 % [CI 55.12–84.98] when isolation was considered as reference test and 33.33 [CI 5.33–77.32] and 75.00 % [CI 35.05–96.07] when PCR was considered as reference test. However, DA inspection showed higher sensitivity, when isolation {82.35 % (14/17) [95 % CI 56.55–95.99]} and PCR {75 % (6/8) [95 % CI 35.05–96.07]} were considered as reference tests. The RA inspection failed to detect 69.81 %TB-infected carcasses which increased the chances of BTB-infected carcasses being released into the food chain. Based on our study, it is recommended that integrated preventive approaches involving enhanced surveillance of the disease through establishment of standardized abattoirs well-equipped with laboratory facilities. Also, adequate training to meat inspectors is essential to prevent the spread of the disease. © 2016, Springer-Verlag London.