Ebola Viral Disease in West Africa: A Threat to Global Health, Economy and Political Stability

Omoleke, Semeeh Akinwale; Mohammed, Ibrahim; Saidu, Yauba

The potential role of some economic activities in forest zones to cause outbreaks A number of economic activities have enhanced human contacts with wildlife, thereby exposing them to the risk of pernicious zoonosis. There are claims that logging and mining companies in Africa have provided the infrastructure to facilitate hunting, particularly in hinterlands that were previously hard to access by humans. 35 Additionally, decreased fish catch, resulting from over-fishing by subsidized Chinese and European vessels, has enhanced wildlife hunting and bush meat consumption (as an alternative source of proteins) in several fishing communities along the west coast of Africa. 37 Furthermore, in some African rural villages, economic hardship, unemployment, droughts and declining soil fertility (and thus decrease farm produced) have caused several villagers to resort to wildlife hunting and trade in bush meat, which constitute crucial safety-nets for their vulnerable households. 38 For example, over 128,000 fruit bats are hunted and sold annually in one West African village. 39 Some sources indicate that the financial returns from this activity are greater than average local wages or returns from other sectors. 40 These high returns provide powerful enticement for impoverished communities to engage in this risky activity. In addition, to this monetary motivation, industrial manufacturing of sophisticated hunting weaponry have enabled wildlife trade to evolve into an established lucrative practice, with an annual net worth of between 10-20 billion US dollars. 36 However, this billion-dollar industry, which extracts millions of tons of bush meat from the tropics, carries a high risk of triggering EVD outbreaks as well as spreading deadly viruses not previously known to veterinary and medical communities. 41 Potential driver of spread of Ebola viral disease