Monkeypox and bushmeat, when a delicacy can kill

Across the world, the concern about Monkeypox is reaching feverish levels. In Western countries, those at risk are advised to avoid contact with their pets and maintain high hygiene standards.

It would now be a terrible time to sit down for your favourite bushmeat delicacy in Nigeria. In reality, though there’s never any good time to do that. Apart from the fact that Nigerians are hunting wildlife to extinction, Ifedayo Adetifa, director-general of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), said avoiding bushmeat is now the best deterrent against Monkeypox.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals). It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family.

The name monkeypox originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.

Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.

“Eating inadequately cooked meat and other animal products of infected animals is a possible risk factor,” says the WHO.

Experts say the virus circulates among certain rodents and squirrels and other wildlife therefore eating these animals for food could be a source of transmission. Infection is diagnosed through testing a lesion for the virus DNA.

Those infected present symptoms including acute rash, headaches, acute onset of fevers, Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), Myalgia (muscle and body aches), back pain and asthenia (profound weakness) which all seems like too high a price to pay for a plate of bushmeat.

The NAFDAC boss in a recent television programme said since the emergence of monkeypox in Nigeria in 2017, there have been 558 cases with eight deaths, adding that only 46 suspected cases have been reported in 2022 with no death.

According to NCDC data, 46 suspected infections were reported between January 1 and April 30 this year in addition to 15 confirmed cases from seven states – Adamawa (3), Lagos (3), Cross River (2), Abuja (2), Kano (2), Delta (2) and Imo (1), though, no death has been recorded.

Ten new suspected cases in April were reported from seven states – Bayelsa (3), Lagos (2), Kano (1), FCT (1), Delta (1), Edo (1) and Ogun (1). From September 2017 to April 30, 2022, a total of 558 suspected cases were reported from 32 states.

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Since this is a moving target, Adetifa warned that Nigerians should interact with animals with care, adding that failure to do so may pose risk to their health.

“I’d prefer to use shun in handling all bushmeat,” he said, “The greatest risk to health security and health in general we should be careful in handling bushmeat and the likes, even rats.” he said.

Nigerians are already fighting a losing battle to keep the rats away from their foods to keep Lassa fever at bay, adding Monkeypox to the mix by feeding the itch to eat bushmeat is just self immolation.

Since May 13, cases of monkeypox have been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from 12 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus, across three WHO regions.

Ninety-two laboratory confirmed cases, and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox with investigations ongoing, have been reported to WHO from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the US and the UK among others. These states are not endemic for monkeypox virus.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing says WHO, however, reported cases thus far have no established travel links to endemic areas. Based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics.

While studies ongoing on what is driving the current cases, Nigeria is in a region endemic to Monkeypox. Other countries in the same group are Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Ivory Coast, Liberia, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.

Some of these endemic regions are divided by artificial borders and these wildlife bounce from one forest to another in these regions making it dangerous to be settling for a plate of bushmeat pepper soup at a time like this.

Nigerians love their bushmeat even if it kills them. According to a report on bushmeat consumption in Nigeria by WildAid, a non-profit that works to reduce global consumption of wildlife, the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed over 11,00 people leading several governments to launch large-scale mass media campaigns that discouraged people from consuming bushmeat.

“Consumers quickly adjusted their preferences away from bushmeat, especially fruit bats and monkeys and switched to alternatives such as fish. Bushmeat sellers complained bitterly about the poor sales during the epidemic; however, by 2018 sales of bushmeat had rebounded in Nigeria,” said the report.

Wildlife in Nigeria, the report says, faces a number of threats from poaching for body parts and meat, to habitat loss from deforestation, infrastructure development, and agricultural expansion.

Populations of lions have been reduced to around 50, elephants to between 169-463, gorillas to around 100, and chimpanzees to less than 2,300 in Nigeria. Some species, such as pangolins, are either endangered or on the brink of extinction. Other declining species, including crocodiles and antelope species like duikers, are widely found in bushmeat markets across the country, the report said.

“In addition to bushmeat consumption, Nigeria has emerged as the primary transit hub in Africa for ivory and pangolin scales exported to Asian countries. The country was linked to about half of all pangolin scale seizures globally between 2016-2019.

A survey by the organisation found that Grasscutters are the most popular bushmeat in Nigeria, eaten by 44 percent of bushmeat consumers, followed by antelope/deer (25percent), snake (21percent) and wild pig (15 percent). Other species consumed include monkey (11 percent), porcupine (10percent), tortoise (9percent), crocodile (8 percent), monitor lizard (7percent), bat (6 percent), sea turtle (4 percent), and chimpanzee, pangolin, hedgehog and civet (approximately 2 percent each).

“While wildlife laws and penalties were upgraded in 2016, they are often poorly understood by the public and law enforcement officials and frequently go unenforced by authorities,” the report said.

Tackling the menace

Rising poverty in Nigeria and government’s ineptitude in creating the right economic environment has forced millions to rely on bushmeat for food. This has been worsened by COVID-19 that saw many lose gainful employment. For these, education would not be enough. Carefully, targeted social programmes along with education would do the most good.

Yet for others, it is a choice, a vulgar display of crass ostentatiousness. They are enabled by weak laws that are poorly understood and even woefully enforced.

For example, the Nigerian government amended the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) (Amendment) Act in December 2016 to increase fines under the First Schedule from 1,000 naira ($3) to 500,000 naira ($1,313) or five years imprisonment, or both for offenders who hunt or trade in endangered species.

This includes such species as chimpanzees, pangolins, sea turtles, as well as some species of civet, monkeys, pythons, and crocodiles. With regards to the Second Schedule, fines were increased to 300,000 naira ($770) or three years in prison or both.

Airlines, shippers, or cargo handlers who freight illegal wildlife products now pay a fine of 2 million naira ($5,128)23.

“However, the law is rarely enforced, as seen with many other wildlife laws, such as the National Environmental (Protection of Endangered Species in International Trade) Regulations 2011, which has a maximum fine of 5 million naira ($13,137) and a three-year jail term for people involved in wildlife-related crimes,” said the Wildlife report.

“We recommend improving enforcement of wildlife laws with a specialized and well resourced multi-agency unit that tackles wildlife crime, along the lines recommended by INTERPOL’s National Environmental Security Task Forces (NESTs) initiative.

“This brings together police, customs, cross-border agencies, environmental agencies, prosecutors, nongovernmental organizations and intergovernmental partners to tackle environmental crimes from all sides, from poaching to investigation to the financial affairs of criminal networks,” the report said.