SMUGGLED BUSHMEAT IS EBOLA'S BACK DOOR TO AMERICA.

SMUGGLED BUSHMEAT IS EBOLA'S BACK DOOR TO AMERICA.Less than three miles from Yankee Stadium, the colorful storefronts of African markets lining the Grand Concourse are some of the first signs of a bustling Bronx community that includes immigrants from those West African nations hit hardest by the recent and unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola virus. We are here today looking for bushmeat, the butchered harvest of African wildlife, and an ethnic delicacy in West African expatriate communities all over the world. A turbaned woman smiles vividly when we enter one small market with canned goods displayed in its window, but the light in her eyes immediately dims when we ask about bushmeat. Shrugging, looking away, she says she knows nothing about it and then, after a moment’s calculation, asks us to repeat the word, as if she didn’t understand what we had said. #bushmeat Paa George Appiah is from Ghana, but has been living in New York for 10 years. A former GNC employee, he sidesteps questions about his current work status, but is cheery and candid when it comes to bushmeat. “Akarnte is the best, my favorite,” he tells us. Akarnte, he explains, is a type of “grass-cutter.” His brief curbside mimicry of buckteeth suggests a large rabbit, but the grass-cutter is in fact a large rodent, more commonly called a “cane rat” in the U.S. Cane rats are similar in appearance to a guinea pig, prized as a source of protein throughout Ghana and other parts of West Africa, and officially unavailable anywhere in the United States. #bushmeat Bushmeat, which can range from bat to monkey to lion, including a number of endangered species, is beloved by many African-born Americans, despite the fact that it is illegal in the U.S. In the Bronx, the high price (up to $100 for six or seven pounds, Appiah tells us) attached to bushmeat (or viande de brousse, as it is known in the French-speaking world) indicates a luxury indulgence in the same way illegally imported caviar might for Russian émigrés in Brooklyn.

COMMON PRACTICES THAT SPREAD EBOLA VIRUS.

Hunting of wild animals referred to as bush meat,bats and community kitchen and parlors have been identified as foci of transmission. Markets that deal in bush meat,porcupine,wild antelopes and bats are also foci of infection and transmission.

E-B-O-L-A AND THE BUSH MEAT CONNECTION.

The Ebola virus has taken its toll on countries in West Africa and some citizens outside west Africa. The virus is deadly and only proper management in terms of isolation,,re- hydration and symptomatic treatment of patients only ensures recovery . The Ebola virus has been linked to fruit bats which is postulated to be the reservoir host,and also chimpanzees,monkeys and wild antelopes all popularly referred to as bush meat. The hunting,preparation and consumption have been traced as the major route of transmission of the virus to man.The recent outbreak of Ebola in Guinea started in a family in Meliandou, the area sits deep within the Guinea forest surrounded by flowing reeds.The boy died after infection with the virus,followed by the sister then the pregnant mum,it is important to note that the family were bat hunters. The Ebola virus spread from that family to other communities,Sierra leone and Liberia.The hunting of wild animals that has had contact with fruit bats,is the major route of infection .The hunting and consumption of wild animals have been discouraged,but more and more people are consuming bush meat and bats.The sale and smuggling of bush meat and bats across borders,within communities are major routes of spread of the virus. Consumption of bats ,bush meat and exportation should be curbed by active surveillance and mass education on the health hazards associated with consumption of these animals. Border patrol, airport surveillance and hospital check /screening result for people travelling from Ebola affected countries.