Morpho-pathological patterns and associated charcteristics of caprine pneumonia in goats slaughtered in Kumasi and Tamale, Ghana

Caprine pneumonia remains an important respiratory condition affecting goat health and productivity, but comparative pathological data from Ghana are limited. This study assessed pneumonia prevalence, associated characteristics and pathological patterns in goats slaughtered at Kumasi and Tamale abattoirs. A cross-sectional abattoir-based study was conducted from June 2020 to February 2021 involving 2,246 goats slaughtered at the Kumasi and Tamale abattoirs. Following ante-mortem assessment, the lungs were examined grossly for pneumonic lesions and the extent of pulmonary consolidation was recorded. Representative pneumonic lung tissues were processed routinely for histopathological examination. Associations among categorical variables were evaluated using the Chi-square test, while differences in average consolidation scores were assessed using Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests as appropriate, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Of the 2,246 slaughtered goats examined, 163 (7.3%; 95% CI: 6.3–8.4%) had pneumonic lung lesions. The proportion affected was 3.7% (63/1,695) at the Kumasi abattoir and 18.1% (100/551) at the Tamale abattoir. Pneumonic lesions were recorded in 8.0% of goats examined during the rainy season and 6.7% during the dry season, but the difference was not statistically significant (χ² = 1.44, p = 0.230). Among pneumonic goats, ACS was higher in animals examined at Tamale than at Kumasi (U = 2552.5, p = 0.042). ACS also differed across breed categories (H = 17.295, p < 0.001), although breed distribution was markedly imbalanced between the two abattoirs. Gross lesion patterns differed between abattoirs ( p < 0.001), with bronchopneumonia predominating among pneumonic goats examined at Tamale and broncho-interstitial pneumonia more frequent at Kumasi. Histopathological findings included broncho-interstitial, suppurative bronchopneumonia, fibrinous bronchopneumonia and interstitial pneumonia. Caprine pneumonia among goats examined at the Kumasi and Tamale abattoirs showed diverse gross and histopathological patterns, with differences in pneumonia occurrence, consolidation severity and lesion distribution between the two abattoirs. Because abattoir and geographical location could not be separated in the study design, these findings should not be interpreted as independent geographical effects. The results support continued abattoir-based pathological surveillance and pathogen-specific investigations to determine the aetiologies of the observed lesions.