Using mobile syndromic surveillance at slaughter in Kenya and Uganda 




Elizabeth Cook, Denis Mugizi, Innocent Obilil, Kristina Roesel and Bernard Bett
International Livestock Research Institute
17th International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics
Sydney, Australia, 11–15 November 2024








Better lives through livestock


1

Purpose of slaughterhouse surveillance
Animal health
Prevalence of livestock diseases, drug residues, and animal welfare

Public health
Prevalence of zoonotic agents and food borne pathogens 

Data collection
Data on diseases that are hard to detect (bTB, Taenia solium)

Disease prioritization
Information for disease prioritization, resource allocation, and program implementation. 



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What is a slaughterhouse?

https://www.ips-journal.eu/regions/europe/a-slaughterhouse-for-workers-4477/

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Slaughterhouses in rural East Africa







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Slaughterhouses in rural East Africa
		Mean	Percentage
	Animals processed per day	5	
	Number of workers	11.5	
	Source of water - well		70
	Water conveyed by bucket		80
	Soap available		42
	Workers wash knives with soap		20

Hygiene standards in non-export slaughter facilities are poorly enforced


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Insufficient number of meat inspectors – assigned to multiple facilities
Government meat inspectors visit daily, focus on checking meat for parasites
Antemortem inspections rarely practiced at smaller facilities
Shut-downs could result in slaughter outside of inspected facilities
Paper-based recording
No laboratory support
Limitations to meat inspection





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Objectives
Pilot an electronic, mobile syndromic surveillance system as an alternative model of collection, storage and retrieval of data on livestock diseases at abattoirs 
Develop capacity in electronic syndromic disease surveillance 
Establish a disease data base in slaughter animals
Develop capacity in meat inspection


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Approach
Digitise data collection tools
Train meat inspectors
Meat hygiene and food safety
Meat inspection regulations and standards
Digital syndromic surveillance (DSS)
Embed within government owned data repositories




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Findings
Inconsistent reporting
Some diseases were localized e.g. Cysticercosis in Kitgum and Gulu
Diseases of public heath importance (Tuberculosis, Cysticercosis)
 

	District	Submissions	District	Submissions
	Busia	102	Mukono	96
	Jinja	247	Soroti	48
	Kampala	328	Kisoro	1
	Kamuli	252	Mpigi	28
	Kitgum	94	Mbarara	3
	Kumi	286	Kiryandongo	42
	Luwero	28	Kiboga	1

	Totally Condemned (196)		
	Cause	%	Districts
	Cysts	1	Amuria, Mityana, Gulu, Masaka
	TB	7.1	Masaka, Kampala, Luwero, Mukono


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Challenges
Insufficient meat inspectors – responsible for up to 8 facilities
No diagnostic support
No traceability/no feedback
Duplication of effort
Fatigue - too many digital tools
No incentives for reporting
Server (data storage) costs





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Next steps - Training
Virtual training for meat inspectors


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THANK YOU



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