The Importance of the Slaughterhouse in Surveilling Animal and Public Health: A Systematic Review

From the point of public health, the objective of the slaughterhouse is to guarantee the safety of meat in which meat inspection represent an essential tool to control animal diseases and guarantee the public health. The slaughterhouse can be used as surveillance center for livestock diseases. However, other aspects related with animal and human health, such as epidemiology and disease control in primary production, control of animal welfare on the farm, surveillance of zoonotic agents responsible for food poisoning, as well as surveillance and control of antimicrobial resistance, can be monitored. These controls should not be seen as a last defensive barrier but rather as a complement to the controls carried out on the farm. Regarding the control of diseases in livestock, scientific research is scarce and outdated, not taking advantage of the potential for disease control. Animal welfare in primary production and during transport can be monitored throughout ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection at the slaughterhouse, providing valuable individual data on animal welfare. Surveillance and research regarding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at slaughterhouses is scarce, mainly in cattle, sheep, and goats. However, most of the zoonotic pathogens are sensitive to the antibiotics studied. Moreover, the prevalence at the slaughterhouse of zoonotic and foodborne agents seems to be low, but a lack of harmonization in terms of control and communication may lead to underestimate its real prevalence.