Bush Meat

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Bush Meat Zoonotic Disease

• Proactive Solutions for a Dynamic Environment

College of African Wildlife Management Mweka,
Tanzania July 2008
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Overview

• Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease
• The Link
• Global Viral Forecasting Initiative
• Solutions
• Disease Prevention Response
• Monitoring Surveillance
• Diagnosis
• Response

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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease

• The problem from a public health perspective
• Wildlife populations frequently harbor, often
  silently, zoonotic disease pathogens
• Bush meat hunting places people in intimate
  contact with wildlife blood/tissues and increases
  risks of disease transmission

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Livestock and Zoonotic Disease

• Livestock may serve as intermediaries of zoonotic
  disease transmission between wildlife and humans
• Cases of Avian Influenza and Nipah virus
• Livestock holders at-risk for zoonoses

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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease

• Zoonoses that have jumped from wildlife
  reservoirs to humans through bush meat
  hunting/consumption in Africa

• HIV
• Ebola Virus
• Marburg Virus
• Monkeypox Virus
• Simian Foamy Virus

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Wolfe, ND. Et al. Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Vol. 11. No. 12. December 2005 1822 - 27.
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Bush Meat Consumption

• In Cameroon
• new timber concessions
• new roads to access the resources
• increased demand for animal protein
• Across income classes in Cameroon, 9 of meat
  budget is spent on bush meat (International
  Institute of Tropical Agriculture)
• Western Serengeti, Tanzania
• Bush meat comprised 55-95 of meat protein
  requirements (Barnett, R. TRAFFIC East/Southern
  Africa. 2000)

Increased Bush Meat Consumption
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Bush Meat Consumption

• Congo Basin
• Bush meat consumption estimated at gt282
  g/person/day annual extraction gt 4.5 million
  tons
• (Fa JE, et. al. Conservation Biology 200216
  232-7)
• Central Africa Overall
• Estimate 579 million animals off-take as bush
  meat
• (Fa JE, et. al. In Conservation of Exploited
  Species. Cambridge University Press. 2003
  203-241)

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Bush Meat The Broader Context

• Bush Meat Issue

• Biodiversity
• Conservation Efforts
• Economy
• Global Public Health

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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Risk Factors
• Pathogen Prevalence
• Human and Wildlife Interaction via hunting,
  slaughtering and butchering
• Environmental Change that facilitates
  human/wildlife interaction
• Human Behavior

A.Asamoah/GWS
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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Pathogen Prevalence
• Pool of available, circulating pathogens
• Propensity for pathogen sustainability within
  wildlife populations (animal to animal)
• Pathogen affinity for human host
• RNA viruses
• High mutation and recombination rates

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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Human and Wildlife Interaction
• Highest risks associated with hunting nonhuman
  primates, particularly chimpanzees
• Risks increase associated with level of contact
• Opening the Carcass (Butchering/Dressing)
• Preparing and Cooking Meats
• Transport
• Sale

UWSC
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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Human and Animal Population Dynamic Shifts

• Environmental Change
• Climate change
• Natural resource extraction
• Agricultural encroachment
• Loss of habitat

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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Human Behavior
• Human Migration
• Population Growth
• Protein Poor Diets
• Social and Cultural Practices (traditional
  medicines)
• Wildlife/Exotic Animal Trade

A.Asamoah/GWS
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Bush Meat and Zoonotic Disease Transmission

• Global Viral Forecasting Initiative
• Pilot project of Dr. Nathan Wolfe (UCLA/UCSF)
• Goal forecast potential viral outbreaks before
  they reach epidemic status (e.g. HIV)
• Working collaboratively with hunters to identify
  previously unknown viruses
• Animal blood samples (hunter-collected) screened
  for unknown viral gene sequences
• Create data bank of animal viruses

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Global Viral Forecasting Initiative

• Screening at-risk populations (hunters, market
  vendors) for viral antibodies as sentinel of
  virus exposure
• Simian Foamy Virus found in Cameroonian hunters
  however no human-human transmission to date
• Matching idiopathic human illness with possible
  viral etiologies

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Global Viral Forecasting Initiative

• Viral Chatter
• Continual low-level interchange of genetic
  information amongst viral subtypes
• Recombined viruses may acquire novel properties
  (human-human transmission) that make them
  particularly dangerous
• Monitoring viral chatter and early
  identification of outbreak potential

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Global Viral Forecasting Initiative

• Overarching themes
• Where is the next infectious disease pandemic
  likely to originate?
• What does the data tell us about global hot
  spots of emerging infectious disease where
  should we concentrate our resources?
• How might we expect it to behave?
• Can we mobilize resources in advance to be
  proactive rather than reactive in our response?
• Link viral characteristics (e.g. surface
  proteins) with pandemic potential
• Establish disease surveillance systems focused at
  these hot spots that target the human/animal
  interface

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Bush Meat and Disease Transmission

• How can we limit opportunities for infectious
  disease transmission at the human/wildlife
  interface?

• Decrease host density (people and livestock)
  available to the pool of circulating pathogens
• Equip and protect populations at highest risk of
  exposure to pathogens

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Bush Meat and Disease Transmission

• Decreasing host density available to pathogens
• Low impact natural resource extraction (e.g.
  logging) that seeks to limit human/wildlife
  interaction
• Limiting new road construction into wildlife
  habitat
• Roads increase range of existing hunting areas
  and open new areas to hunting
• Promote sustainable agricultural practices that
  meet nutritional demands and improve livelihoods
• High yield crops
• Irrigated agriculture where appropriate
• Discourage clearing of new lands, particularly
  fringe areas and park boundaries

ZSL
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Bush Meat and Disease Transmission

• Equip and protect populations at risk of
  exposure
• Education
• Training
• Awareness Campaigns
• Personal Protective Equipment

• Target At-Risk Populations
• Hunters
• Market Vendors/ Middlemen
• Park Rangers Wildlife Officials
• Timber Workers
• Veterinarians/Animal Health Workers

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Bush Meat and Disease Transmission

• Keys to success
• Education
• Including schoolchildren
• Training/Outreach/Awareness
• Enforcement
• Adequate Nutrition
• Alternative Livelihoods

A.Asamoah/GWS
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• Best Policy Avoid Contact with Wildlife

N.Wolfe
N.Wolfe
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Bush Meat and DiseaseEducation and Awareness

• Messages must be carefully crafted and focused
• Reality of health risks as means of deterring
  bush meat hunting
• Consideration of costs associated with bush meat
  hunting
• Medical and transportation costs to treat illness
• loss of income/productivity due to illness or
  death
• cultural ostracism
• fines/legal action
• Active hunting will not control disease prevalence

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Bush Meat and Disease Education and Awareness

• Provide information that will limit disease
  transmission opportunities

• Hunters should
• Avoid visibly sick animals
• Use personal protective equipment (gloves, masks,
  etc)
• Avoid high risk butchering practices
• Seek medical help immediately upon signs of
  illness

UWSC
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Bush Meat and Disease Education and Awareness

• Locations for Outreach
• Bush Meat Markets
• Urban Markets
• Livestock Markets
• Stops Along Trade and Transport Routes
• Schools
• Government Offices
• Veterinarians
• Hospitals

• Campaigns Must
• Have Good Penetration to Target Audience
• Be Easily Understood
• Be Able to Respond to Community Needs
• Be Culturally Sensitive
• Flexible and Adaptable Based Upon Feedback

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Bush Meat and Refugee Camps

• Camps may be in environmentally sensitive areas,
  predisposing to bush meat hunting (Kagera
  Kigoma camps, Tanzania)
• Bush meat viewed as
• Source of cheap, often preferred, protein
• Source of income for populations stressed
  limited by displacement

• Refugee camp populations at higher risk
• Inadequate nutrition/Protein poor diets
• Higher rates of illness and poverty
• High host density rapid pathogen transmission

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Bush Meat and Refugee Camps

• Solutions
• Improving placement of refugee camps
• Future camps should avoid wildlife migration
  routes
• Ensuring nutritional/protein requirements of
  populations are met
• Subsidized livestock based meats and eggs
• Better wildlife management practices in bordering
  parks and game reserves
• Providing livelihood solutions
• Agricultural trainings and inputs
• Increased emphasis on self-reliance

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Addressing Disease Emergence

• Prevention and Response Solutions
• Monitoring Surveillance
• Diagnosis
• Response

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Disease Monitoring Surveillance

• Surveillance
• The collection, analysis and interpretation of
  data to confirm disease presence, identify
  trends, and guide actions to control disease
• Community Based Disease Surveillance
• Utilizes trained community members to detect and
  report cases using standard diagnostic criteria

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Community-Based Disease Surveillance

• Allows surveillance under conditions of poor
  infrastructure, large coverage areas, and
  inadequate veterinary resources
• Contributes to disease database compilation
• Provides feedback to local community on disease
  trends, risks, outbreak prevention strategies
• May be extended to include vaccination/treatment
  delivery by local community members

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Community-Based Disease Surveillance

• Strengths
• Improves diagnostic sensitivity
• Allows real-time ongoing monitoring with minimal
  resources at minimal cost
• Fosters community education and awareness
• Weaknesses
• High error rate requires clearly defined case
  definitions
• First stage in outbreak detection laboratory or
  health worker confirmation needed
• Requires good communication/chain-of-command

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CAHWs Community-Based Disease Surveillance

• Community-Based Animal Health Workers (CAHWs)
• Community members trained in the prevention and
  treatment of common livestock illness and able to
  deliver services at the local level

Practical Action
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CAHWs Community-Based Disease Surveillance

• CAHWs may assist with community-based disease
  surveillance by
• Filling out regular disease monitoring forms
• Reporting suspicious/suspect cases to veterinary
  authorities
• Identifying disease outbreaks at earliest stages
• Engaging in preventative activities (i.e.
  vaccination)

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Allport, R. Et. Al. Rev. sci. tech. Offic. Int.
Epiz 2005. 24. (3) 921-932
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CAHWs

• CAHWs generally bring an existing level of
  indigenous animal health and husbandry knowledge
• Added benefits beyond disease surveillance
• Improved Livestock
• Health

Higher Meat/Milk Yields Improved Food
Security Economic Self-Sufficiency Improved
Nutrition Human Health Decreased pressure on
wildlife/bush meat
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Diagnostic Capacity

• Equipment
• Infrastructure (i.e. generators, access to wells)
• Basic Laboratory Diagnostic Equipment
  (microscopes, slides, incubators, reagents)
• Diagnostic Assay Kits
• Personal Protective Equipment/Biosafety Equip.
• Training
• Principles of Epidemiology
• Equipment and Assay Use

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Building Laboratory Diagnostic Capacity
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and Outbreak Response

• Epidemiology and data analysis training
• Rapid deployment to address disease outbreak
  incidents

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Additional Resources

• World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
  www.oie.int
• One World, One Health www.oneworldonehealth.org
• Bush Meat Crisis Task Force www.bushmeat.org