* Corresponding author: Brahima Sacko Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Science, Technology and Technology, Bamako, Mali. Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. The impact of slaughter practices on the prevalence of Salmonella in poultry carcasses in slaughterhouses in Bamako (Mali) Brahima Sacko 1, 2, * , Satigui Sidibe 2 , Ousamane Coulibaly 3 , Kadiatou Coulibaly 2 , Modibo Kouyate 1 and Amadou Hamadoun Babana 1 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Science, Technology and Technology, Bamako, Mali. 2 Diagnostic and Research Service, Central Veterinary Laboratory, Bamako, Mali. 3 Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Science, Technology and Technology, Bamako, Mali. World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 2022, 11(03), 104–108 Publication history: Received on 17 August 2022; revised on 26 September 2022; accepted on 28 Septmber 2022 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjbphs.2022.11.3.0137 Abstract This study, carried out between October 2016 and June 2018, aimed to assess the impact of slaughtering practices on the prevalence of Salmonella in poultry carcasses slaughtered in Bamako markets. It involved 8 slaughterhouses grouped into two categories (A and B). Slaughterhouses classified in category A (75%) were characterized by unsatisfactory hygienic practices. On the other hand, those classified in category B (25%) respected certain principles and standards of slaughter. The prevalence of Salmonella observed in category A slaughterhouse (15.97%) is high compared to that of category B (7.29%). The results of this study have made it possible to establish that the risk factors at the origin of the contamination of poultry products are, among other things, the non-application of basic hygiene rules in the markets and at the level of poultry slaughterhouses, the non-application of good slaughtering practices and the use of rudimentary instruments for slaughtering. Keywords: Prevalence; Salmonella; Slaughterhouse; Poultry; Bamako 1. Introduction Poultry meat is the most balanced reference food for humans [8, 9] . It is an excellent source of high quality protein, vitamins and mineral salts [5] . However, the poultry slaughterhouse is one of the major critical points of poultry meat hygiene [6, 10, 11] . During slaughter operations, inter-contamination phenomena occur, which induces a proliferation of pathogens on initially healthy carcasses [2] . In Mali, despite the development of poultry farming in recent years, slaughtering practices are lagging behind considerably in technology. At present, there is very little data available on the impact of slaughtering practices on the contamination of poultry meat by Salmonella in Mali. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Material 2.1.1. Biological material As biological material we mainly used poultry organs (liver, intestine, skin of the neck).