The status of hygienic practices of small-scale poultry slaughterhouse in Thailand: An ecohealth approach

Salmonella is pathogen of many mammalian species and it is one of the most important bacteria that cause food borne illness worldwide. Salmonella spp. can be commonly found in raw poultry and meat. Eggs, agricultural products, processed foods, raw milk and raw milk products and contaminated water also have been implicated in human salmonellosis. In Thailand, Salmonella was found to be the second largest cause of food poisoning, following rotavirus. Furthermore, antimicrobial-resistant strains of Salmonella spp. has been reported in many parts of the world. The importance of the resistance is that the bacteria acquire their resistance in the animal host before being transmitted to human through food chain. This may result treatment failures in human when applying antimicrobial agents to treat human salmonellosis. This study aimed to elucidate the status of small scale poultry slaughterhouses and their affect to ecological and health in the community in order to sustainably enhance hygiene and functioning of small scale poultry slaughterhouses in Northern Thailand. Initial steps included the identification of key stakeholders associated with the meat production chain, development of a research framework, and design of a methodology based on stakeholder consultations. The framework and methodology combine issues in five major areas: (1) public health, (2) socioeconomics, (3) policy, (4) veterinary medicine, and (5) communities and the environment. Consequently, a total of 41 small-scale poultry slaughterhouses were visited during the period from July 2011 to May 2012. Data on the current status of the slaughterhouses regarding productivity, economic status, hygienic management, and opportunities and challenges faced in improving the plants and following the DLD slaughterhouse regulations, were collected using a structured questionnaire and interviews. In addition, a checklist, which was developed based on the DLD regulations, was used for triangulation. In addition, a microbiological risk assessment approach was employed to detect Salmonella contamination in meat processing facilities. The microbial risk assessment was combined with stakeholder perceptions to provide an overview of the existing situation, as well as to identify opportunities for upgrading slaughterhouses in order to more effectively address matters of food safety, processing, and government licensing. The results of this study demonstrated that the developed conceptual framework could elucidate the complex factors limiting small-scale slaughterhouse improvement including a lack of appropriate enabling policies and an apparent absence of feasible interventions for improvement. Unhygienic slaughterhouse management was reflected in the incidence of Salmonella contamination. The prevalence of Salmonella spp. in live poultry, carcasses, waste water, and soil around processing plants were 3.17%, 7.32%, 21.27% and 29.27%, respectively. Moreover, the bacteria could be isolated from each point of slaughter lines. Eighteen different serotypes were identified, the most common being Corvallis (15.19%), followed by Rissen (13.92%), Hadar (12.66%), Enteritidis (10.13%), [I. 4,5,12 : i : -], Stanley, and Weltevreden (8.86%). Tests revealed that 68.35% of the Salmonella spp. were resistant to at least one antimicrobial while 50.63% showed multiple drug resistance (MDR). Specifically, 44.30% of Salmonella was resistant to nalidixic acid, followed by streptomycin (41.77%), ampicillin (34.18%), tetracycline (34.18%), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (20.25%). Policy advocacy was implemented through meeting with policy-level DLD officer responsible for slaughterhouse control in Thailand. The instruction including blueprint and feasible criteria of good practice of small scale poultry slaughterhouse was developed and then tested of microbiological quality of the meat. The results showed that Coliform bacteria and total bacteria count in meat after implementation was lower than that before implementation. It could be concluded that there is potential for the use of an Ecohealth approach to address critical problems and it’s solving at the interface of rural development and public health. The findings of this study could serve as a model for transdisciplinary studies and interventions related to other similar complex challenges

EcoHealth manual

Feeding the growing population, while promoting better health, environment and sustainable livelihood opportunities is a global challenge that we all share. EcoHelath is an approach that addresses some of these challenges by assuring better health for people, animals and environment. The IDRC supported program EcoZEID (Ecosystem Approaches to Better Management of Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases) is being implemented by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) since 2009, in five countries in South East Asia. The project worked with a large number of regional stakeholders to capacitate them in understanding and incorporating/ practicing EcoHealth. Two EcoHealth resource centres have been setup at leading universities in Indonesia (Gadjah Mada University) and Thailand (Chiang Mai University) as part of the project. This manual was prepared as a resource for teaching EcoHealth concepts to university students from diverse disciplines. It is intended to introduce examples of important aspects of EcoHealth, providing real world examples of each aspect and suggesting how the EcoHealth approach to research can be applied to improve the quality of human health, animal health and the environment. The EcoHealth approach involves interdisciplinary efforts: experts from various academic fields working as a team, learning to speak each other’s language, with the strengths of each discipline actively supporting each other. Moreover EcoHealth encourages researches to consider the broadest context when looking at concrete problems. That transdisciplinary approach can be employed by users of this manual. Individuals with a strong academic background in one area, e.g., the social sciences, can provide help to others who have had less experience in that discipline. By building an understanding of the concepts and research methods used by other fields, students can cooperatively develop their capacity to effectively apply the EcoHealth approach as members of interdisciplinary research teams

Achieving food safety, the improvement of small-scale slaughterhouses through policy engagement

Food safety concerns are important to consumers and a focus of the Thai government. Applying food safety standards is often challenging for poultry production especially in rural area. Previous studies indicated that poultry meat and meat products were highly contaminated with food-borne pathogens including Salmonella and Campylobacter with poultry slaughterhouses as a major source for bacterial contamination. There is a lack of studies targeting effective interventions to improve poultry meat production and hygiene, particularly on policy that regulates such interventions. Using an EcoHealth approach, this study, aimed to develop feasible and cost effective guidelines for improvement of small-scale poultry slaughterhouses in Northern Thailand. Policy makers were involved from the early stage. Current laws and regulations for poultry slaughterhouses were reviewed, in depth interviews and focus group discussions with district and provincial authorities provided information on the enforcement of those regulations. Forty-one small-scale poultry slaughterhouses located in Chiang Mai were visited during July 2011-February 2013. Data on the current management and the need for improvement to address the current regulations were collected from slaughterhouse owners using structured questionnaires and checklists. The study revealed that despite the enforcement of slaughterhouse regulation since 1992 and GMP since 2006, none of the small-scale slaughterhouses in this study are able to meet the regulations and obtain license. The slaughterhouse owners reflected that current regulations and GMP are not feasible for small-scale slaughterhouses. Improper hygienic management was commonly practiced. The guideline for improving the slaughterhouse is developed and currently being implemented and evaluated through outcome mapping in selected slaughterhouses. Results of this study were discussed in a policy meeting with policy-level officers and will be reflected in a policy brief. Feedback from those discussions will be presented

An integrative approach to elucidate and enhance hygienic practices in small-scale poultry slaughterhouses in northern Thailand

In Thailand small scale rural poultry production development can be challenged by food safety policies that limit economic development opportunities. This may limit incentives for improving sanitation and disease prevention. Therefore, the project funded by the International Development Research Centre and implemented by International Livestock Research Development was performed. In this study integrative research including a participatory approach was used to elucidate and enhance the hygienic practices in small scale poultry slaughterhouses in rural Northern Thailand. Initial steps included the identification of stakeholders associated with meat production chain, development of a research framework, and designing the methodology based on stakeholder consultations. The framework and methodology derived combined at least five issue areas corresponding to the following disciplines1) public health 2) socio-economic 3) policy 4) veterinary and 5) community and environment. Methods used were questionnaires, observation, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. In addition, a microbiological risk assessment approach was employed to identify hazards and critical factors of slaughtering process affecting food safety and emerging food born pathogen risk. Combining this with stakeholder knowledge and attitudes provided the basis for identifying feasible and sustainable interventions. This study revealed that there were complex factors affecting to the hygienic management of the slaughterhouse. The study also demonstrated the potential of an integrative, participatory approach for addressing a critical problem at the interface of rural development and public health. It may serve as a useful model as basis for study and intervention for other similar transdisciplinary challenges

Hygiene in small-scale poultry slaughterhouses in Thailand: An Ecohealth/One Health approach case study

Background and justification Thailand is the one of the world’s poultry meat production countries. However, small scale rural poultry production development can be challenged by food safety policies that can limit economic development opportunities for this sector. This may led to reduced incentives for improving sanitation and disease prevention along the poultry production chain. Furthermore, many cases of Salmonellosis in human are reported year by year. Previous reports revealed that slaughterhouses play a role of disease spreading sources. According to the Department of Livestock Development (DLD), most of the poultry slaughterhouses in Thailand are small scale and improper management was commonly observed. Objectives: To elucidate the sanitation and disease prevention practices and to develop the guideline for improving the feasible hygienic management for small scale poultry abattoirs in rural Northern Thailand by using Ecohealth/One health concep

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from carcasses, processing facilities and the environment surrounding small scale poultry slaughterhouses in Thailand

Salmonella is a major food-borne pathogen worldwide, including Thailand, and poultry meat plays a role as a vehicle for the spread of the disease from animals to humans. The prevalence and characteristics of Salmonella isolated from 41 small scale poultry slaughterhouses in Chiang Mai, Thailand were determined during July 2011 through May 2012. Salmonella’s prevalence in live poultry, carcasses, waste water, and soil around processing plants were 3.2%, 7.3%, 22.0% and 29.0%, respectively. Eighteen different serotypes were identified, the most common being Corvallis (15.2%), followed by Rissen (13.9%), Hadar (12.7%), Enteritidis (10.1%), [I. 4,5,12 : i : -] (8.8%), Stanley (8.8%), and Weltevreden (8.8%). Antimicrobial susceptibility tests revealed that 68.4% of the Salmonella spp were resistant to at least one antimicrobial while 50.6% showed multiple drug resistance (MDR). Specifically, 44.3% of Salmonella were resistant to nalidixic acid, followed by streptomycin (41.8%), ampicillin (34.2%), tetracycline (34.2%), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (20.3%). Salmonella contamination was found in processing lines, carcasses, and in the environment around the processing stations. These findings indicate that improving hygiene management in small scale poultry slaughterhouses as well as prudent use of antimicrobial drugs is urgently needed if Salmonella contamination is to be reduced

Improving food safety in Asia through increased capacity in ecohealth

Interest has increased considerably in the last five years in transdisciplinary approaches to addressing the precipitating factors of emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases. During this time, several One Health and ecohealth initiatives have begun in Asia. This paper reports on recommendations coming out of one such initiative (the Building Ecohealth Capacity in Asia project) and outlines a strategy for promoting an ecohealth approach in research and in practice relevant to prioritized concerns relating to reducing zoonotic disease in Asia. The three main aspects of the strategy that are presented and discussed include: (1) Promote transdisciplinary approaches to understanding the complexity of zoonotic disease that compromise food safety; (2) increase teaching and application of ecohealth in medical sciences and other subjects relevant to food safety; and (3) bring ecohealth and One Health approaches into health policy discussions, particularly where these discussions influence policy formulation. Main constraints to applying such a strategy include limited awareness and knowledge of ecohealth and One Health, lack of willingness to engage in a transdisciplinary setting, restricted capacity to change academic curricula, rigid institutional frameworks for problem solving, and availability of funding. Suggestions for reducing these constraints are addressed.81660