A survey of some zoonotic diseases in cattle slaughtered at local abattoir, Behera Governorate

The current study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of some zoonotic diseases transmitted through meat including; cysticercosis, tuberculosis and brucellosis in slaughtered bovine stock (aged >2 years) at Abo El Marameer abattoir, Behera, Egypt. Prevalence estimation of the three zoonotic diseases was undertaken through an active abattoir and sero-survey was carried out during the period of January 2018 and December 2019. A total of 1200 Serum samples collected from the slaughter stock were serologically screened for antibodies against brucellosis using Rose Bengal plate test. The same animals were examined for presence of gross lesions of tuberculosis and cysticercosis. Post mortem examination of slaughtered cattle showed a prevalence of, 1.5% (18) for cysticercosis and 1.25% (15) for tuberculosis. In these two zoonoses, a statistically significant difference in infection rates was noted between different breeds. In addition, the overall seroprevalence of animals with brucellosis antibodies were found to be 7.3% (88). The study findings suggested that brucellosis, tuberculosis and cysticercosis were prevalent in the study area and provide definitive evidence of slaughtered stock exposure to these zoonotic agents with concurrent public health consequences.