Hygiene practices in abattoir and slaughter slab, determinants and assessment of abattoir and slaughter slab facilities in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State South-East Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Workers in slaughterhouses engaging in unhygienic practices create conducive environments for zoonoses and meat contamination. Knowledge of hygiene practices and their determinants provides evidence for the design of targeted interventions. OBJECTIVES: We investigated knowledge and determinants of hygiene practices among workers in slaughterhouses and assessed slaughterhouse facilities in Abakaliki. METHODS: Workers in the Central Meat Market abattoir and Slaughter slab Abakaliki were interviewed in a cross-sectional quantitative study to ascertain their knowledge and hygiene practices while abattoir facilities were assessed using a checklist. Associations were analysed with Chi-square while predictors were determined using binary logistic model. RESULTS: We interviewed 188 workers 75.5% and 85.6% of whom had good knowledge and good hygiene practices respectively. However, hand-washing before and after handling meat (44.1%), cleaning work surfaces with soap and water (45.2%) and sanitary disposal of waste (6.9%) were suboptimal. Knowledge of good hygiene practice was a predictor of good hygiene practice (AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 2.0–11.3, p=0.001). Well water and borehole were present in both slaughterhouses and cold rooms were available in Central Meat market abattoir. CONCLUSIONS: The level of good knowledge was high and this was a determinant of good hygienic practices. Training on hygiene practices is recommended to prevent meat contamination and zoonoses.