The Ebola outbreak in Guinea was likely caused by eating bush meat, a collection of meat including rats and monkeys, Breitbart reported from the United Nations. The outbreak has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, and officials fear it will contaminate Nigeria, making it the worst outbreak in history.
West Africans still believe bush meat is safe and are going to continue eating it, and have expressed fear and displeasure at the thought of changing their lifestyles by raising livestock for food. A Guinea resident is quoted in Breitbart saying that authorities and aid groups are trying to ban traditions that groups have lived by for generations. Bush meat is more widely available and banning it is unrealistic.
Ebola spreads easily, and it only takes one transmission from animal to human to create an epidemic across countries, such as handling an uncooked bat or another animal with the virus. The next primary source of infection then becomes human-to-human contact, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
But West Africans say they have been eating the meat so long that no one can remember exactly when they started. The meat is available in street markets, even in places where it is illegal or looked down upon by those who want to protect the environment and dislike the killing of protected primates. Africans seek out and eat bush meat when producing food other ways is challenging, according to the The Sydney Morning Herald
The outbreak was caused by a debilitating combination of events including poverty, weak governance and unrest among citizens. Fruit bats are considered to be the likeliest carriers of Ebola without showing any signs or symptoms.
Madam Grace Anyomi, a bush meat trader in Guinea, said her business is collapsing because of the virus. She had been using the money brought in by her meat business to take care of her children, but doesn't believe the virus is in the meat and will continue to operate her business, Breitbart reported.
