Smuggled chicken ‘could cause Ebola outbreak’

The federal ministry of agriculture and rural development has raised alarm about the smuggling of frozen chicken, warning that it could lead to a resurgence of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

The warning was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the federal department of animal production and husbandry services, which noted that imported poultry and poultry products were filtering into local markets through several land borders, despite the ban on such products.

The ministry also blamed the illegal trade for the decline in consumption of local chicken, loss of jobs provided by the poultry industry and decrease in national income generated from the poultry sub-sector.

While identifying the absence of quality certification or standard of instruments used as one of the health risks associated with imported poultry products, the statement said the recent outbreak of EVD in some West African countries had shown that the handling of these products could transmit the disease.

It said that people handling the frozen chicken were not known and as such, there were no checks on the storage facility and the mode of transportation.

Also claiming that EVD deaths and burial places may not have been properly reported in some of these West African countries, it warned that Nigerians should not assume that all affected West African countries had achieved 100 per cent tracking and control of EVD as Nigeria had done.

“It is on this note that the federal department of animal production and husbandry services is calling on Nigerians smuggling chicken to desist from doing so,” NAN quoted the statement as saying.

“The department is also calling on the Nigerian customs service to step up surveillance to further curb this illegal trade. Similarly, agricultural and health watchdogs must keep a vigilant eye on poultry product to prevent contaminants in the product.”

In a report published on Monday, TheCable drew attention to the risk of Ebola re-introduction to the country through under-policed land borders.