Development and Validation of a Rapid Diagnostic Tool for Multi-Drug Resistant Salmonella at Point-of-Slaughter in Nigerian Abattoirs

Point-of-slaughter detection of multi-drug resistant Salmonella would enable real-time intervention to prevent contaminated carcasses from entering the food chain, but no validated rapid diagnostic tool currently exists for use in Nigerian abattoir conditions. This study developed and validated a lateral flow immunoassay-based rapid diagnostic tool for multi-drug resistant Salmonella detection at point-of-slaughter in Nigerian abattoirs. Tool development involved antibody selection and optimization using monoclonal antibodies against Salmonella lipopolysaccharide and beta-lactamase antigens. Performance validation was conducted against standard culture and whole-genome sequencing reference methods using 400 carcass swab samples from Ibadan, Kano, and Port Harcourt abattoirs. Field validation under operational abattoir conditions assessed usability and operator concordance. The optimized lateral flow assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 91.2% and specificity of 94.7% against culture reference, and sensitivity of 88.4% against whole-genome sequencing confirmation for multi-drug resistant detection. Time-to-result was under 20 minutes. Field validation showed acceptable concordance across operator types with minimal training. False-negative rates were slightly elevated in samples with very low bacterial loads. The study presents an original biotechnological contribution to veterinary public health diagnostics, with direct application for abattoir food safety risk management. Recommendations for scale-up, regulatory approval through NAFDAC, and integration into abattoir quality management systems are provided alongside a commercialization feasibility analysis. Keywords: lateral flow assay, rapid diagnostics, multi-drug resistant Salmonella, abattoir, point-of-slaughter