Clinical Exploratory Recovery of Bacteria Pathogens Associated with some Abattoir Outfits in Port Harcourt, Rivers State: A Potential Public Health Concern| Biomed Grid

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of some pathogenic pathogens with abattoir environment in Port Harcourt and possibly highlight some of their Public Health implications. The study was a cross sectional research design; hence samples were bacteriologically collected and examined for the presence of some pathogenic pathogens and their potential implication on the overall meat hygiene, using standard microbiological technique. Frequency distribution, prevalence and ANOVA t-test statistics was used at p<0.0 through the application of SPSS version 21 for the analysis of the data. Results implicated the presence of four types of bacteria namely; Clostridium spp, Staphylococcus spp, Bacillus spp, and Escherichia coli with prevalence rates of 4 (5%), 16 (20%), 20 (25%) and 40 (50%) respectively. Total Number of Coliforms (MPN Index/100ml) for all the selected Abattoir locations stood at ≥ 2400. The null hypothesis was therefore retained thus, the bacteriological quality of meat is strongly influenced by the conditions of hygiene prevailing during the production and handling process. It is therefore, strongly believed that without proper hygiene, the environment and materials used in abattoir can act as a source of microbiological contamination. However, indiscriminate littering with feaces is a threat, hence, requires serious control. Abattoir contributes to the problem of food borne diseases and potential health hazards associated with it. The findings from this study indicate that meat hygiene was compromised, and this situation calls for an improvement in abattoir management safety and the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) by relevant stakeholders to prevent an outbreak of an epidemic.