The National President of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Dr Olutoyin Adetuberu, has cautioned Nigerians to desist from consuming meat that has blood around it or dark coloured as they are the symptom that the animal may be infected by deadly anthrax.
Dr Adetuberu, while speaking during a program on Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), said that the symptoms of anthrax may appear as cholera in humans, but it will eventually lead to death if not treated.
“We can avoid not eating contaminated meat by buying meat from vendors whose meat has been properly inspected and certified by the veterinary doctor. There is a need for veterinary doctors to certify meat in every abattoir. We want the government to employ the manpower to man our abattoir, or else we will be putting the populace at risk.
“When you are buying meat, don’t buy meat that has blood all around it, don’t buy meat that is dark coloured because it shows that the animal was moribund before it was killed, and you have to be careful where you buy your meat from so that you don’t get infected with the disease,” she said.
The Veterinarian explained that anthrax is a disease caused by a bacterium, and this bacterium is resistant to environmental conditions, it is resistant to heat and even cold, so when it is found in an environment, it is very difficult to decontaminate because it forms spores and these spores are the things that cause the infection.
“We have symptoms in animals and also in humans. The symptoms in animals are that you will see the animal die suddenly, and you will see unclothed blood oozing out of the natural orifices (nose, mouth, anus, hears).
“So, once you begin to see sudden death and many deaths in cattle, sheep, and goat, and in the wildlife, you have antelopes also being affected; those are the symptoms on animals.
“When you come to human beings, you have spores developing on the skin, then we have the gastric form, in which case the person will be having diarrhea, you can mistake it for cholera. Then you also have the respiratory form, which is the one that comes in through the inhalation of the spores, and that is when you will have a fever, cold, muscle pain, and the patient will cough with serious chest pain, which will lead to death”, she said.
She said the consumption of infected animals and the inhalation of the bacteria spores and then the. She said when spores settle on the body, it can infect the person, if it settles on the food and water, the spores can contaminate it, and when anyone eats the contaminated food, the person will be infected.
Also, the Chairman FCT Chapter of NVMA, Dr. Ifeanyi Ogbu, while explaining how animals contract the disease, said, “The bacteria can reside in the soil, and when we have the wet condition, maybe through the digging of soil, they formed spores that come up and drop on vegetables, then these animals will eat it, and if they are not vaccinated they will be infected.”
He said the most preventive measure for this disease is to vaccinate vulnerable animals, but for human beings, it can be cured, but for animals, the best is to vaccinate them.
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