Knowledge and practice of bovine tuberculosis among occupational workers in abattoirs in Abuja

Zoonotic tuberculosis particularly those caused by Mycobaterium bovis is increasingly of importance especially since the emergence of HIV/AIDS, posing a serious public health threat to human population. The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and practice of Bovine tuberculosis among occupational workers in abattoir in Abuja. A total of 389 questionnaire were administered to butchers and meat sellers in the randomly selected abattoir in four selected area councils. Data were analysed using Chi-square at a ρ<0.05 level of significant and descriptive statistics such as percentages. Out of 384 of the respondents, 95.1% were males while 4.9% were females; 96.9% were between that of 18-45; 57% had secondary education; 61.2% had 1 to 10 years working experience. Based on knowledge, 67.4% knew bovine tuberculosis to be zoonotic; 20.1% and 36.2% knew transmission could be from infected milk and meat respectively; 53.9% and 49.0% knew emaciation and respiratory distress as signs in cattle respectively; 72.1% and 54.9% of the respondents knew tuberculosis lesions to be of pulmonary and extrapulmonary regions respectively. Based on practice, 34.9% do nothing when they see abnormal lesions while 24.5% call the veterinarian; 31.0% and 9.9% of respondent use boot and mask as protective clothing respectively; 43.2% wash their hands and knife with water and soap while 10.9% use disinfectant. The findings of this study revealed that butchers and meat sellers have acquired knowledge about the nature of tuberculosis lesions through repeated meat inspection carried out by veterinarians in Abuja abattoirs.