Working conditions and public health risks in slaughterhouses in western Kenya

Background: Inadequate facilities and hygiene at slaughterhouses can result in contamination of meat and occupational hazards to workers. The objectives of this study were to assess current conditions in slaughterhouses in western Kenya and the knowledge, and practices of the slaughterhouse workers toward hygiene and sanitation. Methods: Between February and October 2012 all consenting slaughterhouses in the study area were recruited. A standardised questionnaire relating to facilities and practices in the slaughterhouse was administered to the foreperson at each site. A second questionnaire was used to capture individual slaughterhouse workers’ knowledge, practices and recent health events. Results: A total of 738 slaughterhouse workers from 142 slaughterhouses completed questionnaires. Many slaughterhouses had poor infrastructure, 65% (95% CI 63–67%) had a roof, cement floor and walls, 60% (95% CI 57–62%) had a toilet and 20% (95% CI 18–22%) had hand-washing facilities. The meat inspector visited 90% (95% CI 92–95%) of slaughterhouses but antemortem inspection was practiced at only 7% (95% CI 6–8%). Nine percent (95% CI 7–10%) of slaughterhouses slaughtered sick animals. Only half of workers wore personal protective clothing - 53% (95% CI 51–55%) wore protective coats and 49% (95% CI 46–51%) wore rubber boots. Knowledge of zoonotic disease was low with only 31% (95% CI 29–33%) of workers aware that disease could be transmitted from animals. Conclusions: The current working conditions in slaughterhouses in western Kenya are not in line with the recommendations of the Meat Control Act of Kenya. Current facilities and practices may increase occupational exposure to disease or injury and contaminated meat may enter the consumer market. The findings of this study could enable the development of appropriate interventions to minimise public health risks. Initially, improvements need to be made to facilities and practices to improve worker safety and reduce the risk of food contamination. Simultaneously, training programmes should target workers and inspectors to improve awareness of the risks. In addition, education of health care workers should highlight the increased risks of injury and disease in slaughterhouse workers. Finally, enhanced surveillance, targeting slaughterhouse workers could be used to detect disease outbreaks. This “One Health” approach to disease surveillance is likely to benefit workers, producers and consumers

The preventive effect of activated charcoal on HDL levels and aorta histopathological profiles in hypercholesterol rat models

Abstract Hypercholesterolemia is a condition which the cholesterol levels in the blood exceeds the normal value. The use of hypercholesterolemia drugs or synthetic drugs in a long term will cause severe side effects. Therefore, it is important to explore an alternative preventive agent of hypercholesterolemia derived from natural materials, such as activated charcoal. The activated charcoal can absorb substances thousands times of its own weight and might be an effective and non-toxic material. The research aimed to determine the preventive effect of activated charcoal towards HDL level and aorta’s histopathology. This experiment used 24 male rats in randomized design that were divided into six groups: negative control (1); positive control (2), and four groups of treatments with activated charcoal doses of 2.250 mg/kg BW (3), 4.950 mg/kg BW (4), 6.750 mg/kg BW (5) 4.950 mg/kg BW (6), respectively, for 14 days. Simultaneously, all groups were received high cholesterol diet except group 1 and group 6. High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) level was measured by the spectrophotometry method and the data of HDL were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and followed by the Tukey test (p&lt;0.05), while aorta’s histopathology were analyzed descriptively. Therapeutic dose of 4.950 mg/kg BW (group 4) showed the best dose in increasing HDL levels by 42% compared to positive control. Activated charcoal reduced the inflammation cells and the defect of aorta’s histopathology. Based on the results, activated charcoal prevents the decreasing of HDL level and a defect of aorta’s histopathology.</jats:p