Medical experts have advised Nigerians to avoid consuming bush meat amid renewed concerns over the resurgence of Ebola Virus Disease in parts of Africa.
The physicians warned that contact with infected wild animals could increase the risk of transmission of the deadly disease.
They explained that Ebola is a highly infectious disease that can spread from animals to humans through contact with the blood, organs or bodily fluids of infected wildlife, including bats, monkeys and other bush animals.
The experts spoke in separate interviews while reacting to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a recently confirmed imported case in Uganda.
The World Health Organisation recently declared the outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern following the spread of a rare strain of the virus for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
According to WHO, the outbreak in eastern Congo’s Ituri Province has recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths.
Uganda also confirmed two cases, including one death, involving individuals who travelled from the DRC.
Although no Ebola case has been confirmed in Nigeria, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris, said surveillance and preparedness measures had been intensified across the country.
He said the agency was closely monitoring developments in the DRC and Uganda because of increased regional movement across African countries.
Idris added that the NCDC was working with stakeholders, including the Port Health Services under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease affecting humans and other primates, according to WHO.
The virus has five known species: Bundibugyo, Zaire, Reston, Tai Forest and Sudan.
The Zaire strain caused the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak, while the Sudan strain is responsible for the current outbreak in Uganda.
Nigeria recorded an Ebola outbreak in 2014 after an infected Liberian-American traveler, Patrick Sawyer, entered the country.
Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, the physician who first treated Sawyer at First Consultants Medical Centre in Lagos, later died from the disease after helping to contain its spread.
Speaking on preventive measures, a Professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin, Prof. Tanimola Akande, urged Nigerians to avoid consuming bush meat during the outbreak.
“Ebola is a zoonotic infection. It is well known that transmission can occur through the consumption of bush meat,” he said.
Akande described bush meat as a reservoir for the Ebola virus and warned that handling infected animals during hunting, processing or sale could also transmit the disease.
“Consumption of cooked meat is not the only means of transmission. Physical contact with animals through hunting, processing and display for sale are also possible routes,” he said.
He identified monkeys, bats, gorillas and chimpanzees as animals associated with higher risks of Ebola transmission.
The public health expert listed symptoms of Ebola to include fever, headache, body weakness, muscle pain, sore throat and loss of appetite.
He said severe cases could involve bleeding from the nose and gums, dehydration and organ failure.
Akande urged Nigerians to adopt preventive measures, including proper hygiene, avoiding contact with sick or dead animals and reporting suspected symptoms early.
He also advised the use of protective equipment, such as gloves, when handling bush meat and stressed the importance of thoroughly cooking meat before consumption.
In an earlier public health advisory, the NCDC also urged Nigerians to practice good hand hygiene and avoid physical contact with persons showing symptoms of unknown infections.
The agency specifically warned against consuming bush meat, especially bats and non-human primates, which are known reservoirs of the Ebola virus.
