Boiling Your Meat Well Does Not Kill Anthrax, Expert Warns

Boiling meat well does not kill Anthrax, an expert has warned.

Dr Obi Ogar, director, Veterinary Services, Cross River Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, handed down the warning on Saturday in Calabar during a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He disclosed that well boiled meat did not prevent one from contracting anthrax after consumption while reacting to claims in some quarters that boiling meat properly could kill the pathogen that causes anthrax.

Anthrax, Ogar claimed, was a deadly bacterial and zoonotic disease caused by a bacterium called bacillus anthracis, adding that it also occurred primarily in cattle, sheep and goat, and could affect other animals.

The veterinary doctor said the bacterium could only be destroyed using heat through the process of incineration which would burn the substance to ashes.

He said while disposing of an animal that died of anthrax, it should be done in a very deep grave after which disinfectant and chemical should be poured on the carcass before covering to prevent any escape.

“This organism is not killed by the heat from our kitchens, but from incineration, thereby burning the substance to ashes which renders the meat of no use to the owner,” Ogar said, adding that the public should desist from eating bush meat for the time being because the disease was zoonotic and could also affect animals in the wild.

He advised Nigerians to buy their meat from approved meat markets and not roadsides because no one could guarantee where they got their meat from.

Few weeks ago, anthrax was reported in some neighboring West African countries and just last week, it was reported in Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria.