NIGERIA —The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has issued a public alert regarding an outbreak of Anthrax in Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
Ernest Umakhihe, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this announcement in a statement released in Abuja.
To address the outbreak, the FMARD has reactivated a standing committee responsible for Anthrax control, and all relevant institutions and collaborators have been notified to join efforts in controlling the situation.
In addition, state directors of veterinary services across Nigeria have been sensitized to the issue.
The Nigerian public is strongly advised to refrain from consuming hides (pomo), smoked meat, and bush meat as they pose a serious health risk until the outbreak is brought under control.
Umakhihe emphasized the need to intensify animal vaccinations in the Nigerian border states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos due to their proximity to Burkina Faso, Togo, and Ghana.
Furthermore, annual vaccinations with Anthrax spore vaccines are readily available at Nigeria’s National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State.
These vaccines are the most affordable and effective means of preventing and controlling the disease in animals.
Umakhihe explained that while Anthrax is primarily a disease affecting animals, humans can become infected if they come into contact with spores from infected animals.
This can occur through inhalation of anthrax spores or consumption of contaminated animal products such as hides, skins, meat, or milk from non-vaccinated animals with anthrax.
Fortunately, Anthrax is easily treatable in both animals and humans through the use of antibiotics and supportive therapy.
Mr. Umakhihe urged the public to remain calm and vigilant, assuring them that the federal government, through the standing committee, is implementing interventions to control the spread of the disease.
The zoonotic disease in a nutshell
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by spore-forming bacteria called Bacillus anthracis.
A zoonosis disease i.e., a disease transmissible from animals to humans, typically affects ruminants where the bacteria produce extremely potent toxins which are responsible for the symptoms, causing a high lethality rate.
Anthrax spores are naturally found in the soil and commonly affect domestic and wild animals.
However, Anthrax is not a contagious disease, so one cannot contract it by coming in close contact with an infected person.
Signs of Anthrax are flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever, and muscle aches and if not diagnosed and treated early, it can lead to pneumonia, severe lung problems, difficulty in breathing, shock, and death.
Infected dead animals should be buried deep into the soil along with equipment used in the burial after applying chemicals that will kill the Anthrax spores.
WHO advises that control of anthrax among humans depends on the integration of veterinary and human health surveillance and control programs.
Additionally, routine cross-notification between the veterinary and human health surveillance systems and close collaboration between the two health sectors is particularly important during epidemiological and outbreak investigations.
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