Background: Livestock farming, especially cattle rearing, remains a major source of income for local farmers. However, the health status of cattle and the standard of veterinary services determine the quality of animal meat and the risk of zoonotic transmission. Thus, this study determined the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori, parasitic infection, gastric and hepatocellular diseases in cows slaughtered in two selected government-approved abattoirs.
Methods: Following a systematic random selection of cows, liver and gastric tissues were taken from the slaughtered cows (n= 99, each), fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed and stained accordingly, and microscopically examined for the presence of H. pylori, parasites, hepatocellular and gastric diseases.
Result: Approximately 66% and 34% of the liver and gastric tissues had pathological changes, respectively. The observed pathologies were cirrhosis (12.1%), fibrosis (8.1%), hepatitis (28%) and necrosis (17%) while tumours (6.1%), dysplasia (10.1%), and gastritis (18%) were observed in gastric tissues. The prevalence of parasitic infections and H. pylori in the liver and gastric tissues were 4% and 26%, respectively. The prevalence of the bacteria was higher in pathologic gastric tissues (44.1%) than in normal gastric tissues (16%). There was a significant association between gastric diseases and H. pylori (p= 0.007). Only 20.2% of the investigated animals were without any obvious gastric and hepatocellular tissues.
Conclusion: The study revealed that H. pylori infection is associated with gastric diseases in cows. It suggests that some cow meat from some abattoir may be unsafe for human consumption.
Key words: Helicobacter pylori, Parasite, Gastric tumour, Cirrhosis, Fibrosis, Cattle
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