The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has notified the general public of the outbreak of poison in trade animals which occurred at a local market in the country.
According to a statement issued Thursday by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Temitope Fashedemi, the outbreak was detected at Mandate Cattle Market, located near the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies at Adewole, Ilorin, Kwara State.
It said the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that mortality in herds occurred at the aforementioned market on Saturday, 20th April.
“The outcome of the investigation revealed that animals had grazed on the forage that was fumigated with organophosphate chemicals prior to the incident,” the statement said.
Organophosphates are chemicals that feature in agricultural products, such as herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides. Exposure to organophosphates can be harmful, experts warn.
Poisoning can occur after short or long-term exposure and can cause nerve damage and disrupt hormone production in humans and animals. Organophosphates are also toxic to plants and insects.
According to a study published by the US National Library of Medicine, in the United States, around 8,000 people per year come in contact with organophosphates but fatalities are rare.
Globally, about 3 million people come in contact with organophosphates annually and it is responsible for some 300,000 deaths. As a result, the US government introduced tighter rules regarding the use of organophosphates in 2013.
The incident
On Thursday, the agric ministry said clinical signs observed in the affected animals were hypersalivation, weakness, and recumbency. On noticing this, the herders decided to slaughter seven of the very weakly affected animals for public consumption.
“This has public health risks, and the consequences may be very severe in the food chain,” the statement said.
Mr Fashedemi said it is important to note however, that there is a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in every state in Nigeria, made up of Federal Epidemiology Officer, State Director, Veterinary Services and State Epidemiology Officer, who have been adequately trained for emergencies such as this.
“In this particular instance, the RRT in Kwara State in collaboration with the State Government’s task force, swiftly swung into action to trace and confiscate the meat from the slaughtered animal; these were subsequently disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner,” the statement said.
According to the statement, 40 suspected poisoned animals were treated with organophosphate antidotes, and they responded with marked improvement in their health, leading to recovery.
Precautions
Following the outbreak, the ministry hinted that several safety proactive measures have been implemented.
Some of the measures taken include cleaning and disinfection of the abattoir that the carcasses were dressed in, creating public awareness about the danger of consuming the meat from affected animals and collecting blood and tissue samples for laboratory testing and analysis.
To avert future occurrences, the ministry emphasised that there is danger in consuming unwholesome meat and other food of animal origin, especially those contaminated with organophosphate.
The statement said meat for human consumption should be purchased at registered, government/private approved spots such as abattoirs, slaughter slabs and meat shops, noting that such products must have been certified wholesome fit for consumption by a registered veterinarian.
“Meat from dead animals is unwholesome and should not be consumed,” the statement said.
With a withdrawal period of 14 -21 days after injection, the Ministry said ingestion and/or application of drugs or chemicals preparation on animals should be strictly observed before products from such animals are certified for consumption.
According to the statement, dead animals should be properly disposed of with the aid of veterinarians and environmental health officers.
“Report diseased animals or suspected to be diseased to the nearest veterinary clinics/hospital or animal health services providers,” the statement said.
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It said people who may have genuine reasons to apply chemicals on open farmlands or fields should notify their host communities to avoid grazing animals on such fields for at least one week.
The ministry assured the general public that it will, through its Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, continue to work with States Veterinary Service in synergy to ensure that the best veterinary and agricultural practices are observed in all ramifications.
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