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WHY GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT YOU TO EAT ‘PONMO’

June 25, 2023

‘Ponmo’ is in the news again, but not for the right reasons. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and some state governments, has advised Nigerians to stop consuming ‘ponmo’ because of the recent anthrax outbreak in West Africa.

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at this moment alerts the general public on the outbreak of anthrax in some neighbouring countries within the West African sub-region; specifically, Northern Ghana bordering Burkina Faso and Togo,” read a statement by the permanent secretary of the ministry.

Anthrax is caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. The bacterium infects herbivores such as cattle, goats and sheep; their spores can be found where these herbivores graze. You can contract anthrax if you handle infected animals or come in contact with their hides.

Anthrax spores are very resistant and can stay in the soil for long. Animals can pick up the spores and contract the infection, which they can pass on to humans through their hides and wool.

More than 90 per cent of human anthrax cases are transmitted via the skin. The spores can enter through cuts on your skin to cause local injuries around the entry point.

The infection starts within two to three days after exposure to the spores. It develops into painless but itchy rashes across your arms, legs, and face.

You can also contract the disease if you eat the hides of infected animals. ‘Ponmo’ from an infected cow can transmit anthrax to you if you eat it raw or undercooked.

You can have face and neck swelling, fever, and lesions around your mouth and throat two to five days later. In severe cases, you may have difficulties breathing.

Herders, meat sellers, farmers, and anyone handling cows, rams, and sheep are particularly at risk of contracting anthrax through the air.
The bacterium’s spores are tiny, light, and invisible. People around animals and their hides can inhale the spores and contract the disease.

Thankfully, anthrax is not contagious. An infected person can’t transmit it to you. The condition is only transmitted from infected animals to humans.

Anthrax can be treated with antibiotics. If you suspect you have been exposed to anthrax spores, wash your body with soap and water and see a doctor. Infected persons often recover after a few days of treatment.

Anthrax is preventable. You can vaccinate uninfected animals with anthrax spore vaccines from the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau state.

The ministry advised that “infected dead animals should be buried deep in the soil along with the equipment used in the burial after applying chemicals that will kill the anthrax spores.”

Meanwhile, you should “desist from the consumption of hides (ponmo), smoked meat and bush meat… until the situation is brought under control.”

 

(The Guardian)

#ponmo

 

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