The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned the sale and consumption of bushmeat in the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar urged hunters and dealers of bushmeat to stop the business.
According to them, it is to prevent the spread of monkeypox pathogens (organisms causing the disease to its host).
Abubakar, in a statement, further asked Nigerians to avoid contact with persons suspected to be infected with monkeypox.
The minister urged veterinary epidemiology officers, field surveillance agents, and veterinarians to step up surveillance to pick any possible case of Monkeypox in animals.
It reads partly: “Following the recent confirmation of Monkeypox (MP) resurgence in Nigeria on May 29, 2022, involving 21 persons, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), where it was said to have led to the death of one person with comorbidity, 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.”
On measures to contain the disease, the minister said: “People must avoid contact with persons suspected to be infected with Monkeypox at home and workplaces.
“Hunters and dealers of ‘bushmeat’ must desist from the practice to prevent any possibility of ‘spillover’ of the pathogen in Nigeria.”
