The way meat is processed at the multibillion naira abattoir in Lagos may render its consumption dangerous to health as BOSEDE OLUSOLA-OBASA reveals in this report The Lagos State Government has always claimed that beef sourced from state-accredited abattoirs are safe for food. However, findings from Saturday PUNCH’s investigation have shown that this claim might not be totally true. Findings from successive visits to the state’s largest abattoir by our correspondent over a period of three months showed that Lagosians consuming beef may be at risk of zoonotic infections.These are deadly diseases transmissible from animals to man through consumption. Investigations at the Oko-Oba Abattoir and Lairage, Lagos, the state’s biggest abattoir, revealed a chain of daily routine that promotes unhealthy and unethical practices that medical practitioners fear could portend risk of diseases to members of the public. Over 200 diseased cows are killed daily Our correspodent observed that at least, 20 out of every 100 cows slaughtered at the abattoir were distressed, bruised and unable to walk. At least, 200 of such cows are slaughtered everyday out of the over 1,200 cows killed at the abattoir for food daily. Often appearing to be in a coma, the cows were wheeled on wooden stretchers into the slaughter slab area from the cattle market located within the same complex. Despite the fact that the state government has banned the slaughtering of diseased cows, Saturday PUNCH observed that the practice continued with impunity in the glare of vet doctors and other task force teams on duty, who looked the other way. Acting like an interested buyer, our correspondent made a subtle inquiry from some cow dealers on why the cows appeared lifeless, they simply said that the animals were distressed having undertaken a long journey. It was also discovered that the cows on stretchers cost lesser than the fit ones. Depending on the state of the animal and size, the price difference could be as high as N100,000. The dealers were usually eager to sell the sick animals in a bid to dispose of them before the worse happened. During the first visit by Saturday PUNCH, a cow was dead on arrival, but it could not be ascertained what was done with it. However, the rule at the abattoir is that such cows should be cut and burnt. Mature cows at the abattoir cost between N100,000 and 250,000. Those dealing in hide and skin take the unhealthy practice further as they usually drop the unprocessed bunch on the soil outside the abattoir, close to the lairage, while waiting to load them into designated meat vans. Some medical and veterinary doctors who spoke with our correspondent said deadly health conditions such as leptospirosis, listeriasis, brucellosis, Q-fever, anthrax, cysticercosis, tuberculosis and infection with ebola and salmonellosis viruses, could result from contact with or consumption of contaminated and infected animals and products. Although an inquiry at Merit Hospital in the Oko Oba area could not immediately establish if people in the area had presented symptoms of some of the diseases mentioned, medical doctors warned that many of the possible diseases might not be immediately diagnosed in Nigeria. They feared that the conditions could also be misdiagnosed to be other forms of ailments. Medical doctors and veterinarians said that eating unwholesome meat and dairy products could silently further cut down on life expectancy of Nigerians, currently put at 50 years. A medical doctor, Abidemi Shabi, said, “There are so many diseases that can be transmitted to man when sick cows are killed for consumption. Diseases could also result from contact with droppings and body secretions of infected animals, but largely from ingestion of the ‘sick’ animals’ meat. “The most popular disease that can be transmitted to man by eating infected meat is mad cow disease, which presents in humans as Creudtfeldt Jakob disease.” Shabi noted that all cattle to be slaughtered for food are supposed to be properly assessed by a qualified veterinary doctor .
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:33:02 +0000
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