Monkeypox: Nigerian Government bans sale, consumption of bushmeat

The Nigerian Government has banned the sale and consumption of bushmeat to avoid a “spillover” of monkeypox in Nigeria.

(Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa).

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD), who disclosed this through the Department of Veterinary & Pest Control Services, urged veterinary epidemiology officers, field surveillance agents and veterinarians to step up surveillance activities, aimed at picking any possible case of monkeypox in animals.

Speaking, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, in a statement called on hunters and dealers of bushmeat to stop the business, adding that the development was to prevent spread of the monkeypox pathogen (organism causing disease to its host).

Also, Abubakar asked Nigerians to avoid contact with persons suspected to be infected with monkeypox at home and office.

“Following the recent confirmation of Monkeypox (MP) resurgence in Nigeria on May 29, 2022, involving 21 persons, by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), where it was said to have led to the death of one person with co-morbidity, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD), through the Department of Veterinary & Pest Control Services, is collaborating with NCDC and stakeholders in the One Health Team to ensure the situation is contained and brought under control.

“Hunters and dealers of “bush meat” must desist from the practice forthwith to prevent any possibility of “spillover” of the pathogen in Nigeria. Transport of wild animals and their products within and across the borders should be suspended and restricted,” the statement read.

Source: Agro Nigeria