Avaliação do uso de medicamentos veterinários em frangos vivos nos sectores de venda dos mercados informais da cidade de Maputo

Abstract

The sale of live chickens in informal markets is a common practice in many regions of the country and with little sanitary inspection, which raises questions related to food safety, public health and animal welfare. The display of live chickens in markets can lead to the emergence of diseases in the animal and subsequent administration of antibiotics. The research aimed to evaluate the use of veterinary medicines in the live chicken sales sectors in the informal markets of the city of Maputo. To this end, 49 vendors were selected by convenience and a structured questionnaire was applied with the purpose of assessing the vendors' knowledge about veterinary medicines, identifying common practices of use and understanding the frequency and conditions of use of these medicines, preceded by the collection of sociodemographic data and a checklist, referring to the characterization of sales. There was a greater participation of female vendors (91.8%) aged over 50 years old, with primary education (42.9%). It was observed that 91.8% of the vendors kept the premises filthy with accumulations of bird feces, feed remains, bird feathers, puddles of water and blood from slaughter, and 93.9% of these used metal cages without proper hygiene. It was found that 36.7% of the vendors administered medicines to chickens at the point of sale, with antibiotics being the most used at 77.9%. Factors such as heat stress (11.1%), diseases (77.8%) and disease prevention (11.1%) led vendors to administer these medicines without proper professional supervision, and all vendors were unaware of the medicines they used. The findings highlight the need for urgent interventions that promote responsible husbandry practices, education on the appropriate use of veterinary medicines and the implementation of strict regulations to ensure food safety and consumer health(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)