The primary reason for post mortem examination of carcasses at slaughterhouse is for protection of public health [ 11].
After pathomorphologic examination of carcasses (from Germany, Austria, Italy, Swiss Tessin) or samples (from Swiss St. Gall, Swiss Grisons, and Liechtenstein), we conducted microbiological analysis from sample material.
Government meat inspectors must do hands-on examinations of carcasses and cannot leave the job to employees of processing plants, an appeals court said today in ruling against an experimental program supported by consumer advocates.
For technical procedures of detailed necropsy examinations of carcasses, the readers are referred to the previously published paper from the same study [ 3].
The vet, who wishes to remain anonymous, told BBC News he believed 10 of the 16 deaths were linked following an examination of their carcasses, and has ruled out the possibility other animals are responsible for the killings.
In addition, abattoir surveillance is conducted on all animals at slaughter, relying on the gross examination of each carcass by an approved veterinarian for pathology suggestive of bTB.
The owners gave consent for necropsy procedures in cases 2 and 3. Gross examination of the carcass revealed severe lesions in the skin of the mammary region, consisting of a nonhealing wound with suture rejection and bilateral elevated white plaques in the inguinal area.
Involved premises were quarantined and biosecurity standards were intensified, an epidemiologic investigation of the outbreak was initiated, and postmortem examinations of some carcasses were conducted.
In Germany, examination of wild boar carcasses intended for human consumption is compulsory (6 ).
Since the majority of cattle infected with bTB show no detectable clinical signs, surveillance systems are generally based on ante-mortem testing of individual cattle using intradermal tuberculin tests at intervals determined by the perceived herd-level risk and post-mortem examination of all bovine carcasses at abattoirs for lesions consistent with bTB [ 1, 4, 5].
Methods have also improved dramatically, advancing from the examination of animals by dissection of carcasses and cadavers (corpses) to 20th century medical imaging techniques including X-ray, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging.
