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Abstract
In Madagascar, little information about drug residues in animal products is available. However, recently, official veterinary services were informed about the misuse of human injectable contraceptives in pig farms as an alternative for chirurgical castration of adult sows before culling. We investigated pigs (n = 80) slaughtered in 7 Malagasy abattoirs and raised in 8 of the 22 Malagasy regions (1) to confirm the contamination of carcasses by anabolic hormones by using LC-MS/MS, (2) to identify the substances of concern and (3) to explore the consumers’ exposure to hormone residues. Medroxyprogesterone acetate was the only synthetic hormone detected in kidney fat. Samples positive with medroxyprogesterone acetate were observed in 66.7% of the districts investigated and in 87.5% of the surveyed regions, confirming its large misuse in livestock. Public awareness campaigns and control improvement among the animal production sector and among the Malagasy public health sector are therefore urgent.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully thank the Service de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle from the French Embassy in Madagascar, the Regional Council of La Reunion (French overseas territory), the European Regional development Funds and the French government for their financial support through the QualiREG research network in Indian Ocean (www.qualireg.org). Thanks also to Mrs. Ravaomanana Fleurette, Mrs. Rabibisoa Lalao Francine and Mr. Rabenarivahiny René for their technical assistance and for collecting biological samples in abattoirs.