Warnings reinforced over African bushmeat in wake of Ebola outbreak

The Federal Government of Nigeria reiterated its ban on the import of bushmeat from West Africa in a meeting held this week in Lagos, while the Kano State Government, located in Northern Nigeria, is reported to have banned the buying and selling of bushmeat in order to avoid spreading the disease.

More than 1,000 people have already died from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), which has broken out in West Africa, with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia worst-affected areas. There have also been two deaths in Nigeria.

Last month the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for increased efforts to improve awareness in rural communities about the risks of contracting the Ebola virus from eating certain wildlife species.

Juan Lubroth, chief veterinary officer, FAO, said people should not touch dead animals, or sell or eat the meat of any animal that they find already dead. "They should also avoid hunting animals that are sick or behaving strangely, as this is another red flag,"​ he said.

"The virus is killed when meat is cooked at a high temperature or heavily smoked, but anyone who handles, skins or butchers an infected wild animal is at risk of contracting the virus."​

The FAO said the while several governments had attempted to outlaw the sale and consumption of bushmeat, the bans have been "impossible to enforce", ​due to scepticism

There have been increasing concerns about the effect the outbreak might have on food security, with farms afraid to work in their fields.

The FAO has partnered the UN World Health Organization (WHO) offices in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help find healthier and more sustainable livestock production options.

On 8 August, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak - the largest ever recorded - a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).