For the consumers of the popular delicacy called ‘bush meat’,they may be risking their health and lives against the vicious Lassa fever that has gotten to an epidemic level in some states of the federation,according to the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association.
The vets at a press conference addressed by its President, Dr. Ganiyu Enahoro, at the weekend, made this startling revelation, in reaction to the management of the causes and the effect of the Lassa fever gnome.
The vets explained” “Lassa fever is a zoonotic, acute viral haemorrhagic fever that was first detected by the medical world in Nigeria and the virus isolated in 1969, known to be transmitted by bush rats, identified and described variously as hairless tailed, eight-nos breasted multi mammate rats (Mastomys natalensis). In other words, the epidemiology (study of the pattern of disease) of Lassa fever indicate that rats of the above description (and possibly other rodents) act as reservoirs of infection, and therefore is the source of the disease. It therefore reasonably mean that the best control is for rats to be kept away from having contact with man directly and indirectly.”
Enahoro added: “The recent outbreak like many past ones have raised a lot of worries and attracted comments from various quarters-medical and non-medical, requiring that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health had to set up a twenty-six member Emergency Response Committee of medical doctors and a renowned virologist.”
His association was not included.
On the number of deaths associated with lassa fever, he said: “More than 53 deaths have been recorded within this year alone in about 15 states, including Edo, Rivers, Anambra, Taraba, Borno, Nassarawa, Ondo, Gombe, Plateau, Yobe, Ebonyi and Lagos States, with many patients in hospital beds receiving treatments.
“Far much number of deaths may have occurred away from hospitals in many traditional or religious healing homes and some others could have died undiagnosed from self-medication without any documentation in hospitals. Regretably, medical doctors and other health workers have also lost their lives managing patients with Lassa fever.”
Explaining how rats and other rodent as carriers of lassa virus normally have preference for bush and bushy fields and would dig holes in the soil to live in, Enahoro said: “They like warm places and could sneak into homes for food if there are openings.
“Kitchens are their most likely homes where they would have sure access to unprotected raw foods and food left-over.
“When rats and possibly rodent carriers of lassa virus have contact with these food items, they contaminate them with faeces and their body fluids, including urine and saliva.”
For Nigeria’s unique environment, Enahoro squealed: “The recent outbreak of lassa fever may be traced to two main seasonal reasons: the coming of heavy rains associated with the late rainy season and early dry season and the increased preparation of lands for farming through bush burning.
“With the rains, most holes inhabited by rats and rodents are flooded with water, rendering them homeless.
“They become highly mobile and can roam about seeking shelters anywhere.
“This is largely the reason for the increased presence of rats and other rodents around living areas.
“The traditional methods of preparing farm lands through bush burning also create a very harsh environment for the rats and other dangerous rodents that are harbingers of Lassa virus; they become exposed and are smoked out of their natural holes, roam about and seek new shelters anywhere.
“They end up most times in vulnerable homes and settle in the kitchens, where they contaminate the foods with the viruses they carry.”
Failure of government: The position of the NVMA is that lassa fever has continued to cause havoc in Nigeria since 1969 because of narrow-minded interventionist efforts, which has failed to appreciate the control of the virus at its animal (rat) source.
The fact that man is affected with lassa fever and the attendant health media hype of the risk the populace is subjected to is not sufficient for the authorities to overlook the epidemiology of the disease which source starts with the rats.
In other words, equal prominence in funding and attention should be given by the Federal Government to the management of patients and protecting the possible risk population as should also be given to prevent the rats and rodents from reaching our homes and having contact with us and our foods.
The statement at the conference added: “The Rapid Response Committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Health does not have the necessary competence to deal with the animal (rat) source of the disease and the public mass education required for sustainable control.
“Therefore, as a holistic approach, the Federal Government should constitute an all-encompassing Lassa fever multi-disciplinary and inter-ministerial committee involving the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Environment and The Federal Ministry of Information.
“The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association hereby calls on the Federal Government to avoid parochial or seemingly political solution to this very serious health matters by not only spending so much money preparing against probable future outbreak in humans, that can be avoided with better understanding of the epidemiology and preferential spending in dealing with the source of such diseases. Prevention they say is always better and cheaper than cure.”
One-World-One-Medicine: Enahoro advised the Federal Government to imbibe the new global public health initiative of One-World-One-Medicine, relying on multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to resolving diseases that has potentials to result in full blown outbreaks by involving relevant experts from multiple fields.”
Citing how it has worked in the Nigerian environment Enahoro said, “the Federal Government should continue to promote and replicate the good result obtained from the multi-sectoral collaboration that was adopted in the control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus disease (Bird Flu) in Nigeria, which had veterinary and human components.
He recommended that “relevant experts should include Medical Officers, Virologists, highly skilled Veterinarians, Agric Extension Officers, Animal Scientists, Pest Control Officers, ecologists and experienced information management Officers who shall coordinate a well-structured nationwide public enlightenment campaign against the disease.”
Responding to a question, he suggested that the Federal Government should classify Herbicides as duty free and extensively promote their use by local farmers in place of bush burning.
As part of the strategic and sustainable measures to curb the lassa scourge, Enahoro said: “Community Health Sanitary workers from the States Ministry of Health and or Local Governments are to be mandated to go out into the streets and inspect surroundings of living quarters and compel environmental sanitation in other to reduce the menace of rats and rodents.”
Other suggested measures include: “Veterinarians in poultry/ large animal practice are to enforce farmer’s adherence to bio-safety and bio-security measures in their methods of storage of animal feeds and poultry products to reduce avoidable exposures. The use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) should be enforced in all livestock farms.”
He also made it clear that the Federal Government should not be seen as the only agency to effect these measures but that “government at all levels should provide the enabling environment for an improved early recognition of Lassa fever disease at the Primary Health Centers, to prevent easy spread and suspected cases transferred early enough to tertiary health facilities for better management.”
For the Federal Government, the light complexioned vet doctor said: “They should fund the establishment of at least one Bio-Safety Levels 3 or 4 laboratories in this country where confirmatory early diagnosis of highly pathogenic viruses can be made. There is currently no known laboratory in Nigeria operating beyond Bio-Safety Level 2.”
In his speech, he advised that “we call on the Federal Government to show more than passive interest in the very terrible state of abbatoirs and slaughter slabs all over Nigeria where animals are killed for human consumption.
“This exposition has been reveal
ed by many foreign media in the last few years as possible sources of contracting avoidable diseases.
“As the concerned professional association, we had at every opportunity requested Government to intervene.
“This is a serious public health challenge and Government need to act now to save the public from continuous consumption of unwholesome meat.
“The Federal Government should urgently establish zonal or states Federal Veterinary Centers fully equipped to serve the profession of Veterinary Medicine in Nigeria as it is done in other places.”