Prevalence of endoparasites of public health importance in pigs slaughtered in Dar es salaam city, Tanzania

This study was carried out to establish the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis (caused by Taenia solium), hydatidosis and ascariosis in slaughter pigs, and assess the state and distribution of pig slaughter slabs in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania, between November 2007 and January 2008. All 24 official slaughter slabs located in the three municipalities of Dar es Salaam city (Kinondoni, Ilala, Temeke), were included in the study. A geographical positioning system (GPS) was used to map the location of the slaughter slabs and a checklist was used to assess the state of the slaughter slabs. All the 731 pigs slaughtered in the study area during the study were examined for cysticercosis, hydatidosis, and ascariosis based on national meat inspection guidelines. Data were analysed using SPSS 11.5 and the distribution of pig slaughter slabs was mapped using ArcView 3.2. The pigs slaughtered originated from nine different regions of Tanzania. Out of the 731 pigs examined, (5.9%), (0.4%), and (8.1%) were infected with cysticercosis, hydatidosis, and ascariosis, respectively. There was an important regional variation in the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis, with the highest prevalence in pigs that originating from Manyara and Dodoma regions. The pig slaughter slabs were clustered in certain areas of Dar es Salaam city and most were in poor conditions. The government of Tanzania should devise strategies to control the pig and pork trades, which should include establishment of an appropriate number of well managed pig slaughter houses to enable proper meat inspection in order to safeguard public health.Belgium Technical Cooperatio