Contaminated milk is responsible for up to 90% of all dairy-related diseases of humans.
A cross sectional study was carried out in Lushoto and Handeni districts of Tanga,
Tanzania to determine the milk handling practices, bacterial contamination and selected
milk-borne zoonotic pathogens along the dairy value chain. A total of 93 respondents
were interviewed and 184 milk and milk product samples were collected. Laboratory
analysis of total and coliform plate counts, detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and
Brucella abortus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were done. Results showed that,
most farmers (57 %) milked their cows under unhygienic conditions. More than 60% of
farmers did not clean their hands, wash cow teats and clean animal houses before
milking. The majority (92.1%) of farmers were not trained on livestock keeping and milk
handling. Although the mean TPC was within the East African Community (EAC)
standards, general counts ranged between 3.3 to 5.8 log10. Eighty seven and 93% of
milk from farmers and vendors, respectively, did not meet the TPC EAC standards. All
the collected milk did not meet the CPC EAC standards, indicating contamination of
milk with coliforms. PCR analyses did not detect E. coli O157:H7 in all the tested
samples while B. abortus was detected in 37 out of 87 samples tested. It was concluded
that unhygienic practices of milking and post-harvest handling along the dairy value
chain possibly contributed to microbial contamination of milk. Detection of B. abortus in
milk is of public health significance due to its zoonotic potential. It is recommended that
veterinary/extension services be provided to livestock farmers on proper animal
husbandry and control of zoonotic animal diseases. Public education should be given to
all stakeholders in dairy industry on milking and post harvest handling of milk to curtail
the likely losses due to rejection of spoiled milk and milk-borne pathogens resulting from
contamination of milk
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