The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has alerted the public regarding a poison outbreak in trade animals at the Mandate Cattle Market near the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies in Adewole, Ilorin, Kwara State.
Following the report from the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there was a mortality incident among the herd at this market on Saturday.
This was containee in a statement by the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Temitope Fashedemi, on Thursday, May 23.
The statement reads: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security hereby alerts the General Public on the outbreak of poison in trade animals which occurred at Mandate Cattle Market, located near College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies at Adewole, Ilorin, Kwara State.
“According to the report from Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, mortality in herd occurred at this market on Saturday, 20th April, 2024 and the outcome of the investigation revealed that animals had grazed on the forage that was fumigated with organophosphate chemical prior to the incident.
“The report further stated that clinical signs observed were hypersalivation, weakness, and recumbency. On noticing this, the herders decided to slaughter 7 of the very weakly affected animals for public consumption.
“This has public health risks, and the consequences may be very severe in the food chain.
“It is important to note however, that there is a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in every state of the Federation, made up of Federal Epidemiology Officer, State Director, Veterinary Services and State Epidemiology Officer, who have been adequately trained by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for emergency situations such as this.
“In this particular instance, the RRT in Kwara State in collaboration with the State Government’s task force, swiftly swung into action to trace and confiscate the meat from the slaughtered animal; these were subsequently disposed in an environmentally friendly manner.
“The report added that 40 suspected poisoned animals were treated with organophosphate antidotes, and they responded with marked improvement in their health, leading to recovery.”
Source: X | NTANewsNow
