ILRI PhD Graduate Fellowship

About the position

The overall health and economic burden arising from meat contamination are likely to be substantial. Although precise estimates on returns to improved hygiene and safety standards in slaughterhouses are missing, the costs of meat contamination and transmission to food systems imply that returns to these interventions are likely to be very large. The lack of adequate hygiene and sanitation facilities in slaughterhouses in developing countries is an important impediment to the practice of international hygiene standards. In Kenya, poor working conditions, including hygiene and sanitation facilities at slaughterhouses have been shown to lead to contamination of meat and transmission of pathogens. Inadequate infrastructure, resource constraints among regulatory bodies, and low levels of awareness among those who produce, trade and process animals about the adverse occupational and public health risks associated with meat contamination compound this problem. Improving hygiene practices at slaughterhouses is crucial to reduce contamination of meat in food system, mainly because large number of animals ultimately pass through them. 

Through this activity, we will develop and test, through a randomized controlled trial, an intervention to limit the spread of pathogens at slaughterhouses in Western Kenya through hygiene and meat handling practices. Counties to be included in the study are Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia, and Siaya. The goal of the research project is to test potential approaches to improve hygiene and meat handling practices at formally registered slaughter facilities in Western Kenya.

Responsibilities of the fellow:

1. Contribute to designing an intervention to assess the impact of training and improving hygiene on practices and carcass contamination in abattoirs.
2. Designing data and sample collection methods.
3. Microbiological analysis of samples to identify bacteria, quantify contamination, molecular methods to identify pathogens.
4. Different methods to determine antimicrobial resistance including disc diffusion and molecular methods.
5. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data associated with the intervention.
6. Economic assessment of the costs of the intervention.
7. Preparing manuscripts for publications and presentation at international conferences.
8. Submission of thesis in accordance with university guidelines.
9. Contribute to policy briefs.

Minimum requirements

The ideal candidate should:

1. Possess a bachelor’s in veterinary science degree.
2. Hold an MSc in Microbiology.
3. Demonstrate previous experience conducting field work particularly quantitative and qualitative data collection.
4. Have experience in laboratory methods, in particular, microbiology (culture, disk diffusions) and PCR.
5. Have demonstrable experience analysing quantitative and qualitative data.
6. Demonstrate publication record.