Indigestible foreign bodies in the forestomach of slaughtered goats in Mogadishu, Somalia

Vet World Vol.16 September-2023 Article-8

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(9): 1829-1832

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.1829-1832

Mohamed A. Shair^1,2, Ahmed A. Hassan-Kadle^1,2,3, Aamir M. Osman^1,3,4, Kaltumo M. Y. Ahmed¹, Abdulkarim A. Yusuf^2,5, Ivan R. Barros-Filho¹, and Rafael F. C. Vieira^6,7

1. Graduate Program on Veterinary Sciences, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
2. Abrar Research and Training Center, Abrar University, Mogadishu, Somalia.
3. Somali One Health Center, Abrar University, Mogadishu, Somalia.
4. Department of Animal Health and Veterinary Services, Ministry of Livestock, Forestry, and Range, Mogadishu, Somalia.
5. Department of Slaughterhouses, Somali Meat Company, Mogadishu, Somalia.
6. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, USA.
7. Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, USA.

Background and Aim: The primary domestic animal in Somali communities is the goat. Their main economic importance is as a food source and a main form of agriculture in the country. There has been a recent decline in the goat population in Somalia, which may be due to the shortage of feed and an increasingly contaminated environment that is affecting the population’s food supply and nutritional status. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and the factors associated with indigestible foreign bodies (IFBs) ingestion in goats in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Somalia Meat Company in Mogadishu, Somalia, in February 2022. A total of 250 goats were included in this study, and records were kept on age, sex, body condition, and location. Following the slaughter, goats were inspected for IFBs, and their stomach compartments were incised and examined. Indigestible foreign body classifications was noted and subjected to analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26.0.

Results: A total of 90/250 (36%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.1-42.3) goats presented IFBs, being 71/90 (79%; 95% CI: 69-87) in the rumen, 12/90 (13%; 95% CI: 7-22) in the reticulum, and seven/90 (8%; 95% CI: 3-15) on both. The most observed IFBs were plastic in 71/90 (79%; 95% CI: 69-87), followed by ropes in eight/90 (10%; 95% CI: 5-18). A high IFB prevalence was observed in goats aged >2–≤3 years (44%), followed by >3 years (36%). The lowest frequency was observed in goats aged <2 years (30%). Overall, there was an association between IFBs in goats and poor body conditions (χ2 = 47%, p < 0.04).

Conclusion: The absence of a plastic waste disposal system in the area, and communal free-grazing of livestock in highly contaminated sites, appeared to be significant contributors to the high occurrence of IFBs in goats. Therefore, appropriate policies for solid waste management should be implemented. Keywords: Capra hircus, plastic bags, small ruminants, Somali slaughterhouse, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Capra hircus, plastic bags, small ruminants, Somali slaughterhouse, Sub-Saharan Africa.

How to cite this article: Shair MA, Hassan-Kadle AA, Osman AM, Ahmed KMY, Yusuf AA, Barros-Filho IR, and Vieira RFC (2023) Indigestible foreign bodies in the forestomach of slaughtered goats in Mogadishu, Somalia, Veterinary World, 16(9): 1829-1832.

Received: 01-06-2023 Accepted: 07-08-2023 Published online: 14-09-2023

Corresponding author: Ahmed A. Hassan-Kadle and Rafael F. C. Vieira E-mail: akadle@abrar.edu.so and rvieira@charlotte.edu

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1829-1832

Copyright: Shair, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.