• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.84-88
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• 2017

Background: Workers in slaughterhouses are exposed to a wide range of biological contaminants, such as bacteria and fungi, due to their working environment. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of respiratory disorders among workers in slaughterhouses. Methods: This study was conducted on 81 workers in slaughterhouses and 81 healthy office workers as a reference group. The American Thoracic Society standard respiratory symptoms questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of respiratory disorders. Besides, lung function tests were conducted using a calibrated spirometer at the beginning (preshift) and at the end (postshift) of the $1^{st}$ working day. Single-stage Anderson sampler was used to measure the concentration of bioaerosols in different parts of slaughterhouses. Results: The prevalence of respiratory disorders, such as cough, productive cough, breathlessness, phlegm, and wheezing, was 3.17, 4.02, 3.07, 4.66, and 3.94 times, respectively, higher among workers in slaughterhouses compared with the reference group. Conclusion: The prevalence of respiratory disorders was significantly higher among workers in slaughterhouses. Thus, the significant reduction in the percentage predicted lung function among workers in slaughterhouses might be associated with exposure to bioaerosols in their work environment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2001

To ensure the safety of domestic livestock products, the government made it obligatory to enforce the hazard analysis critical control point(HACCP) in all domestic slaughterhouses. Under the HACCP, most of the hazards generated in slaughterhouses are bio-hazards, especially pathogenic bacteria. In order to reduce to the pathogenic bacteria, critical control point (CCP) is established and controled in the process of slaughter. A study was carried out to measure the level of bacterial contamination of swine carcass in 6 slaughterhouses selected. As a result, the aerobic plate counts(cfu/$\textrm{cm}^2$) of all samples was $10^2$-10 in average, except slaughterhouse C. The level of the aerobic plate counts on the surface of lower loin in slaughterhouse C was $10^4$ and it was considered that slaughterhouse C should set the process of manual transport of carcass as the CCP. Escherichia coli level was the highest in middle line cut surface. Especially, E coli level of slaughterhouses C and D were about 6.5- and 3.0-fold higher than that of other 4 slaughterhouses. Thus, it was considered that the slaughterhouses C and D should set the process of the entrails treatment as the CCP. The air contamination was measured at two point in a slaughterhouse. The air contamination level was 4-13 times higher than that of the standard Japanese slaughterhouses.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 2014

Several reports on taeniasis and cysticercosis in Vietnam show that they are distributed in over 50 of 63 provinces. In some endemic areas, the prevalence of taeniasis was 0.2-12.0% and that of cysticercosis was 1.0-7.2%. The major symptoms of taeniasis included fidgeted anus, proglottids moving out of the anus, and proglottids in the feces. Clinical manifestations of cysticercosis in humans included subcutaneous nodules, epileptic seizures, severe headach, impaired vision, and memory loss. The species identification of Taenia in Vietnam included Taenia asiatica, Taenia saginata, and Taenia solium based on combined morphology and molecular methods. Only T. solium caused cysticercosis in humans. Praziquantel was chosen for treatment of taeniasis and albendazole for treatment of cysticercosis. The infection rate of cysticercus cellulosae in pigs was 0.04% at Hanoi slaughterhouses, 0.03-0.31% at provincial slaughterhouses in the north, and 0.9% in provincial slaughterhouses in the southern region of Vietnam. The infection rate of cysticercus bovis in cattle was 0.03-2.17% at Hanoi slaughterhouses. Risk factors investigated with regard to transmission of Taenia suggested that consumption of raw meat (eating raw meat 4.5-74.3%), inadequate or absent meat inspection and control, poor sanitation in some endemic areas, and use of untreated human waste as a fertilizer for crops may play important roles in Vietnam, although this remains to be validated.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2022

We investigated the virulence genes, O-serotypes, antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic E. coli isolated from carcasses (n=455) and environmental (n=372) samples of 11 cattle and 12 pig slaughterhouses from December 2020 to December 2021. E. coli were isolated from nine carcasses (2.0%), three slaughter facilities (1.4%), two utensils (2.7%) and three abattoir workers (3.5%) from four cattle and four pig slaughterhouses. Among all isolates, 13 STEC (76.5%) were identified, followed by four EPEC (23.5%). As a result of the antibiotic susceptibility test, all isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, of which 70.6% isolates showed multidrug resistance patterns. The serotypes were diverse in pigs compared to cattle, with serotypes O18, O66, O109 in cattle and O9, O76, O85, O100, O153, and O159 in pigs. In a single cattle slaughterhouse, eight STEC O66 were isolated from various types of sample (4 slaughter animal surfaces, 3 gloves, and 1 knife) with two antimicrobial resistance patterns (CHL-FIS-STR and CHL-FIS). Those two types of strain were suspected cross-contamination from utensils to slaughter animal surfaces. These results showed that pathogenic E. coli were detected in carcasses and various environmental samples in cattle and pig slaughterhouses. Nationwide monitoring and hygiene management are required to prevent cross-contamination of STEC isolate slaughterhouses.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.113-118
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• 2016

Hydatidosis has become a real concern for health care institutions and animal rearers in Tunisia. The Tunisian endemicity is aggravated by the growing number of dogs and the difficulty of getting rid of contaminated viscera because of the lack of equipment in most slaughterhouses. Therefore, microscopic and molecular tools were applied to evaluate the role of slaughterhouses in canine infection and Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s. l.) egg dissemination. Exposure risk to E. granulosus s. l. eggs in urban and rural areas was explored in order to implant preventive and adapted control strategies. Microscopic examinations detected taeniid eggs in 152 amongst 553 fecal samples. The copro-PCR demonstrated that 138 of 152 taeniid samples analyzed were positive for E. granulosus s. l. DNA. PCR-RFLP demonstrated that all isolated samples belonged to E. granulosus sensu stricto (s. s.). An important environmental contamination index (25.0%) by E. granulosus s. l. eggs was demonstrated. The average contamination index from the regions around slaughterhouses (23.3%; 95% CI: 17.7-28.9%) was in the same range as detected in areas located far from slaughterhouses (26.0%, 95% CI: 21.3-30.8%). Echinococcosis endemic areas were extended in both rural (29.9%, 95% CI: 24.8-34.9%) and urban locations (18.1%, 95% CI: 13.0-22.9%). The pathogen dissemination is related neither to the presence/absence of slaughterhouses nor to the location in urban or rural areas, but is probably influenced by human activities (home slaughtering) and behavior towards the infected viscera.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.343-352
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• 2022

Pig slaughterhouses harbor high humidity because of the necessary cleaning that takes place simultaneously with slaughter, which facilitates the existence of mold. Due to the enclosed space, there are several limitations to the control of mold growth with respect to cleaning, ventilation, and drying. In this study, the prevalence of fungi was investigated in four pig slaughterhouses in Korea. Four fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium commune, Penicillium oxalicum, and Cladosporium cladosporioides) were detected with the highest frequency. These four strains were subjected to various treatments to reduce their growth. The fungi were inoculated onto stainless steel (SS) chips and treated with ultraviolet (UV)-C irradiation and hot water. Individual treatments with UV-C (15, 30, 90, 150, 300, and 600 mJ/cm²), and hot water (60, 65, 70, and 83℃) were performed to sanitize the SS chips. Simultaneous cleaning with 60℃ hot water and more than 150 mJ/cm² of UV-C reduced the fungal incidence by > 6.5 Log from 6.6-7.0 Log CFU/cm² (initial count). Our results demonstrate that a combined treatment of UV-C and hot water is the most economical and convenient way to prevent microbiological contamination of small tools (such as knives and sharpeners) and steel surfaces in slaughterhouses.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2002

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point System (HACCP) is recognized worldwide as a science-based and systematic approach for food safety. This has been initiated to establish the HACCP system in Korean slaughterhouses by suggesting some of effective implementation ways. An awareness level survey using questionnaire for 124 owners and 363 employees of the slaughterhouses, and 170 government officers responsible for HACCP duties was performed. This study shows that only 34.7% of owners, 21.1% of employees, and 57.1% of government officers have good understanding of HACCP, but 93.5%, 88.9% and 93.6% respectively have the willingness of HACCP implementation. Major benefits in HACCP implementation in the slaughterhouse raised by respondents were improvement of hygiene level of the plant (54.1%), increase of meat sale (17.6%), pride of the production of safe meat for human consumption (9.6%) and increase of meat export (7.5%), while major obstacles were financial difficulties (33.2%), poor levels of the facilities and equipments in the plants (27.3%), poor level of personal hygiene (19.4%), and lack of understanding of HACCP (12.3%). The most urgent measures which respondents raised to implement HACCP system effectively in the slaughterhouses at the moment were the Improvement of levels of facilities and equipments in the plants (36.6%), the establishment of HACCP base through education and training (19%), special benefits to HACCP implementing plant (11.8%), and close relationship between government and the industry (10.3%). The present study shows some of effective ways to implement HACCP in slaughterhouses.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.278-285
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• 2016

Epidemiological studies have shown the association between transportation of live animals and the potential transmission of infectious disease between premises. This finding was also observed in the 2014-2015 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Korea. Furthermore, slaughterhouses played a key role in the global spread of the FMD virus during the epidemic. In this context, in-depth knowledge of the structure of direct and indirect contact between slaughterhouses is paramount for understanding the dynamics of FMD transmission. But the social network structure of vehicle movements to slaughterhouses in Korea remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to configure a social network topology of vehicle movements between slaughterhouses for a better understanding of how they are potentially connected, and to explore whether FMD outbreaks can be explained by the network properties constructed in the study. We created five monthly directed networks based on the frequency and chronology of on- and off-slaughterhouse vehicle movements. For the monthly network, a node represented a slaughterhouse, and an edge (or link) denoted vehicle movement between two slaughterhouses. Movement data were retrieved from the national Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) database, which tracks the routes of individual vehicle movements using a global positioning system (GPS). Electronic registration of livestock movements has been a mandatory requirement since 2013 to ensure traceability of such movements. For each of the five studied networks, the network structures were characterized by small-world properties, with a short mean distance, a high clustering coefficient, and a short diameter. In addition, a strongly connected component was observed in each of the created networks, and this giant component included 94.4% to 100% of all network nodes. The characteristic hub-and-spoke type of structure was not identified. Such a structural vulnerability in the network suggests that once an infectious disease (such as FMD) is introduced in a random slaughterhouse within the cohesive component, it can spread to every other slaughterhouse in the component. From an epidemiological perspective, for disease management, empirically derived small-world networks could inform decision-makers on the higher potential for a large FMD epidemic within the livestock industry, and could provide insights into the rapid-transmission dynamics of the disease across long distances, despite a standstill of animal movements during the epidemic, given a single incursion of infection in any slaughterhouse in the country.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.86-90
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• 2015

In this study, we reported the morphogenetic analysis and genome sequence by genomic analysis of the newly isolated staphylococcal phage SMSAP5 from soil of slaughterhouses for cattle. Based on transmission electron microscopy evident morphology, phage SMSAP5 belonged to the Siphoviridae family. Phage SMSAP5 had a double-stranded DNA genome with a length of 45,552 bp and 33 % G+C content. Bioinformatics analysis of the phage genome revealed 43 open reading frames. A blastn search revealed that its nucleotide sequence shared a high degree of similarity with that of the Staphylococcus phage tp310-2. In conclusion, this study is the first report to show the morphological features and the complete genome sequence of the phage SMSAP5 from soil of slaughterhouses for cattle.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.97-103
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• 1999

This study was carried out to isolate and identify Salmonella species from poultry slaughterhouses and pork meat processing plants during the period from January 1997 to August 1998, and analyze resistance of antimicrobial agents and plasmid profiles of isolated Salmonella strains. A total of 15 Salmonella strains was isolated from poultry carcasses, swine carcasses, pork meats and cutting boards. Identified Salmonella strains were S. typhimurium, S. heidelberg, S. hilingdon, S. mbandaka, and S. virginia. Ten (66.7%) of 15 Salmonella strains showed resistance to antimicrobial agents and five strains (33.3%) of them were resistant to two or more antimirobial agents. Plasmids were isolated from three Salmonella isolates which had two or more plasmids.