The Occurrence of Gastric Lesions in Slaughtered Pigs at the Kumasi Abattoir, Ghana

Abstract

Information on the occurrence of gastric lesions in pigs in Ghana is lacking in literature. This study was designed as a preliminary investigation to determine the occurrence and pattern of gastric lesion in pigs in Ghana. Ante-mortem animal assessment and post-slaughter stomach evaluation were conducted on 75 pigs out of a total of 694 slaughtered between October, 2014 and March, 2015 at the Kumasi abattoir. The gross lesions observed on the gastric mucosa were graded using standard technique. Stomach contents were assessed and tissue sections were used for histopathology evaluation. The data obtained were cross tabulated and analyzed using Chi-square and One-way ANOVA. Significance was determined at p < 0.05.The prevalence of gastric lesions in the sampled population was 25.3% while the non-glandular stomach (pars oesophagea) and glandular had a prevalence of 17.3% and 21.3% respectively. The predominant lesions observed were epithelial changes in the pars oesophagea and ulcers in glandular region of the stomach. Epithelial changes were restricted to the non-glandular region and it affected 8 (42.1%) of the stomachs with lesions. Erosions and ulceration were observed in the pars oesophagea and glandular stomach while mucosa damage was restricted to the glandular stomach. Lesions were observed in the two breeds studied and the stomach contents of the pigs were mostly finely grounded compounded feed, millet/maize chaff or cassava based feed. Histopathological evaluation of gastric mucosa tissues revealed erosion, multifocal ulcerations with occasional presence of silver staining micro-organisms. There was no significant association between breed, age, sex and occurrence of gastric lesions in pigs. Stomach content volume and feed type were identified as risk factors. Evidence of stomach infection with spirochetes was also observed. Our findings reveal the occurrence of gastric lesions in pigs in Ghana and its associated risk factors. It is therefore recommended that stake-holders should adopt on-farm and abattoir periodic monitoring of the condition as well as improved animal welfare and hygiene practices both on farm and in transit.

Detection and genomic characterization of hepatitis E virus genotype 3 from pigs in Ghana, Africa

“…Age of detection of viremia in swine has also been found to range from 2 to 6 months in previous studies from different parts of the world [ 10 , 50 , 51 ] but was slightly higher in this study. As the age of slaughter is mostly below 1 year in many parts of the world including Ghana, the risk of infection therefore also appears comparable worldwide [ 10 , 52 – 54 ]. Adjusting slaughter age to periods after this may help reduce the risk of human infection, as also suggested in another study from France that found a lower HEV RNA prevalence in pigs older than 6 months as compared to those that were 3–4 months old [ 55 ].…”

Evaluation of the prevalence of stomach ulcers in slaughtered pigs in a Swiss ­abattoir

“…3 Indeed, a theoretical consequence of severe stomach ulceration is a reluctance to eat 3 as well as a proclivity to regurgitate feed, 14 both of which could explain the finding of more severe lesions in empty stomachs (Figure 5). 28 The observation that a low birth weight increases the risk of gastric ulcers as compared to animals with a higher birth weight under the same conditions 36 indicates that more work is necessary to disentangle the effects that ulcers can have on intake and weight gain, and that factors associated with low birth weight have on ulcer development.…”

“…6,24,27,29,33,34 This reflux may occur more easily in the more liquid stomach content triggered by finely ground feed; finer feed may also pass through the stomach more quickly, so that no feed residues hinder the reflux of gastric acid. 28 To what extent stomach ulcers of varying severity represent not only indicators of poor welfare, but are a welfare issue in themselves, and to which degree they represent a potential compromise of food safety, remains to be evaluated.…”

Prevalence of Gastric Lesion in Pigs

“…Ulcers that are observed in pig stomach affect the "pars oesophagea" and can cause acute gastric haemorrhage which result in either slow growth possibly due to chronic ulceration (FRIENDSHIP, 2014) or death (MELNICHOUK, 2002). Stomach lesions have a worldwide distribution (has been described in Spain, England, Denmark, Italy, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, Gana, South Africa, Australia) (MAKINDE and GOUS, 1998;MELNICHOUK, 2002;RAMIS et al, 2006;KOPINSKI and McKENZIE, 2007;RODRIGUEZ et al, 2008;ARAÚJO JÚNIOR et al, 2012;SWABY and GREGORY, 2012;CAPPAI et al, 2013;HERSKIN et al, 2016;LARYEA et al, 2016;OMOTOSHO et al, 2016).…”