Abattoir surveillance demonstrates contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is widespread in Tanzania.

A study was conducted to investigate the presence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in the slaughter facilities in 10 regions of Tanzania that reported pathological lesions suggestive of CBPP during meat inspection. The aim was to ascertain if slaughter facilities can be used to monitor the occurrence and spread of CBPP in the country. The study involved a questionnaire survey, clinical examination of animals for CBPP symptoms prior to slaughter and postmortem examination of the respiratory system in slaughtered cattle. A total of 12 slaughterhouses and 31 animal markets were involved in the study. A total of 2736 cattle were slaughtered comprising 1978 and 758 in slaughterhouses and animal markets, respectively. Of the total slaughtered stock, 351 of 2736 (12.8 %) had lesions suggestive of CBPP and of these, 236 (8.6 %) were from slaughterhouses and 115 (4.2 %) from animal markets. Acute CBPP cases were observed in 192 of the 236 (81.4 %) and 71 of the 115 (61.7 %) of the animals inspected in the slaughterhouses and markets, respectively. Chronic cases were encountered in 24 (10.2 %) of the animals slaughtered in the slaughterhouses and 19 (16.5 %) at animal markets. This work has confirmed that targeted monitoring for CBPP lesions through meat inspection can be a useful tool for CBPP surveillance in endemic countries like Tanzania.