Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in Charge of Crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, has urged Ghanaian meat lovers to stop or reduce meat intake following the outbreak of anthrax disease in Ghana.
According to him, though the government has put measures in place to contain the spread of the virus individuals who love meat can also suspend meat eating to avoid getting the disease because it is zoonotic.
It is about two weeks now when Ghana started recording anthrax virus which is commonly found in cattle, sheep and goat.
It started in the northern part of country and government in attempt to stop the spread and avoid human infection banned transportation of such animals from affected areas to any other part of the country.
But on Monday 12th June, of this year, Environmental Health Officers at the Awuku Senya East Assembly ceased some roasted meat which had been transported from Northern part to the Southern part of the country.
This has created fear and panic among the public, particularly, meat eaters.
But the Deputy Minister in an interview on Adom FM’s late Political talk show hosted by Akua Boakyewaa Yiadom on Mondays and Wednesdays said there’s no cause for alarm as the disease is not widespread and government has put all machinery together to insure the spread does not get out of hands.
“It is a worrying situation but it can be contained easily and that’s what our men are on the grounds doing and we are raising the alarm too much because the practices put in place, we shall contain it’’.
The Manso Edubia legislature said there is a need for massive education on the anthrax disease to create public awareness.
“There is the need to increase education but we must reduce our love for meat’,’ the minister advised.
Meanwhile, Deputy Ranking Member of the Health Committee in Parliament, Mark Kurt Nawane, on same show stated that the effort government claimed it had put in place is not enough to help contained the spread of the virus.
“We need to double pour effort to avoid animal to human infection, you know, the anthrax disease we are talking about, could be used as a biological warfare so government must act faster so we do not start recording anthrax in humans because if we should get there, it will be great disaster,” he noted.
