Nigerians have been advised not to eat the meat of sick animals because it may contain anthrax, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
This was made known on the same day that the House of Representatives urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with relevant stakeholders to implement successful surveillance, vaccination, and awareness campaigns in order to contain the anthrax outbreak that was found in a farm at Gajiri Village, Niger State.
Recall that the organization had previously cautioned against the consumption of Pomo following the onset of the disease in various West African countries.
The spore-forming bacteria Bacillus anthracis is the source of the anthrax illness, which primarily affects ruminants including cows, sheep, and goats.
It is a zoonotic illness that can spread from infected animals to people.
When handling a sick animal, taking part in its slaughter, or coming into touch with tainted animal products, humans can become infected.
Ifedayo Adetify, the director-general of the NCDC, issued the warning yesterday during an interview with Channels Television’s morning show, Sunrise Daily. He urged Nigerians to exercise caution when consuming beef.
He said: “What we are saying is do not eat sick animals at all. Sick animals contain anthrax or animals that have died of anthrax contain anthrax and consumption of any of that product may be harmful to health.
”Anthrax is present on their skin, it’s present in their hair, in their meat. So, the consumption of any of these products, even the people who work with hides and skin who are not even working on skin for the purpose of consumption, are at the risk of anthrax, if that skin came from a dead animal.
“So, at this point in time, where we have a confirmed case, we are just saying, look out for the meat that you buy.“
Reps move to probe spread of disease
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in implementing effective surveillance, vaccination, and awareness campaigns to contain the outbreak of Anthrax discovered in a farm at Gajiri Village, Niger State.
It also called on the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, to put in place measures that would stop the further spread of the disease.
These resolutions followed a motion of urgent public importance, titled “Need to curtain the Outbreak of Anthrax discovered in a farm at Gajiri Village, Suleiman, Niger State”, moved by Adamu Tanko at plenary yesterday.
Moving the motion, Tanko said the relevant stockholders should provide adequate resources and support to affected communities, including compensation for losses incurred due to the outbreak.
He explained the report of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development concerning the presence of anthrax in Nigeria, adding that the laboratory test conducted on the collected samples by the National Veterinary Research Institute confirmed the first reported case at a livestock farm located in Gayin village.
According to him, similar cases of the disease were confirmed in Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso and Togo with symptoms, including sudden death and blood oozing from natural body openings (nose, ear, mouth, and anal region) and spread through affected livestock, bush meat, and contaminated environments.
He expressed worry that Anthrax might affect humans in direct contact with affected animals and contaminated products, with potential inhaling, through spores or wounds.
He called for proactive measures to prevent spread of the disease in Nigeria and the need to protect the health and livelihoods citizens by placing public health precautions, such as strict surveillance and monitoring of livestock farms, as well as proper disposal of infected animals and contaminated materials.
He, however, acknowledged the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in promptly addressing the issue by implementing necessary measures to contain the spread of the disaese and protect both livestock and human health.
The House after adopting the motion, referred the matter to it’s committee on health when constituted to ensure compliance.