Fore-Stomach Foreign Bodies: prevalence, associated risk factors and types affecting cattle slaughtered at Gondar ELFORA abattoir, northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia, recurrent drought and feed shortage coupling with high level of environmental pollution predispose the animals to foreign body  ingestion. A cross-sectional study with systematic random sampling approach was employed from November 2018 to April, 2019 with the objectives of estimating the prevalence; identify associated risk factors and to categorize the types of foreign body in cattle slaughtered at Gondar ELFORA Abattoir. Ante-mortem and postmortem examinations were used to collect the data. From the total of 384 animals examined, the overall prevalence of foreign body was 83(21.61%). Adult and old animals were 4.33 (95% CI=0.98, 19.00, p=0.052) and 4.54 (95% CI=1.03, 19.96, p=0.045) times more likely to have a chance of getting foreign body than young animals by keeping another factors constant, respectively. However, the difference is not statistically significant for adult cattle. Moreover, poor and medium body conditioned animals were 2.19 (95% CI=1.04, 4.56, p=0.037) and 1.51 (95% CI=0.72, 3.13, p=0.273) times more likely to acquire foreign bodies than good body conditioned animals by keeping another factors constant. In the positive cases (N=83), 41(49.40%), 34(40.96%), 8(9.64%) and 0(0%) of the foreign bodies were found in the rumen, reticulum, both rumen and reticulum, and omasum, respectively. Majority of foreign bodies identified (79.51%) were non-metallic in nature, including clothes, plastics, rope,  sand and stone. Designing and implementation of appropriate solid waste disposal and management practices are strongly recommended to reduce the risk of ingestion of indigestible foreign bodies.

Keyword: Abattoir; Cattle; Foreign body; Fore stomach; Prevalence