A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints
There is an urgent need for biosurveillance of unregulated African meat imports at border points of entry in destination markets. This is underscored by recent pandemics linked to exotic wildlife products. Our objective was to catalog the quantity of meat that is informally transported from Africa i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | One Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771423001192 |
| _version_ | 1797394866063278080 |
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| author | S. Morrison-Lanjouw R. Spijker L. Mughini-Gras R.A. Coutinho A.L. Chaber M. Leeflang |
| author_facet | S. Morrison-Lanjouw R. Spijker L. Mughini-Gras R.A. Coutinho A.L. Chaber M. Leeflang |
| author_sort | S. Morrison-Lanjouw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is an urgent need for biosurveillance of unregulated African meat imports at border points of entry in destination markets. This is underscored by recent pandemics linked to exotic wildlife products. Our objective was to catalog the quantity of meat that is informally transported from Africa into and through Europe often without any veterinary or sanitary checks. We searched and included peer-reviewed studies that contained data on the intercontinental movement of unregulated meat from the African continent. This was followed by an investigation of the reported contamination of such meat. We included fifteen airport studies with limited data on this topic. The references included in this review describe the quantity of meat found at border inspection posts and the presence of pathogens. Disease-causing pathogens were found to be present, and the results are organized into bacteria, virus, and parasite categories. The species of animal meat found in this review were linked to CITES-protected species some of which are known reservoir hosts for infectious diseases. This represents a potential and unquantified human health risk to populations along the supply chain, and a loss to biodiversity in supply countries. Meat samples described in this review were primarily found opportunistically by Customs officials, indicating that any estimate of the total quantities passing undetected through border checkpoints must remain tentative, and cannot rule out the possibility that it is indeed considerably higher. We propose a template for future studies regarding African meat imports at border points of entry. The result of this review illustrates a gap in knowledge and lacunae regarding the amount of unregulated African meat imports worldwide, the pathogens it may contain, and the resulting biodiversity loss that occurs from the intercontinental movement of this meat. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:25:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-13a8da00bcc44bab818ca5089372c7ca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-7714 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:25:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | One Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-13a8da00bcc44bab818ca5089372c7ca2023-12-12T04:35:05ZengElsevierOne Health2352-77142023-12-0117100599A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpointsS. Morrison-Lanjouw0R. Spijker1L. Mughini-Gras2R.A. Coutinho3A.L. Chaber4M. Leeflang5University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU/Julius Center), Utrecht, The Netherlands; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Corresponding author at: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.Cochrane Netherlands, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Amsterdam Public Health, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Netherlands Medical Library, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsCentre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The NetherlandsUniversity Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU/Julius Center), Utrecht, The Netherlands; PharmAccess Foundation, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsSchool of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, AustraliaDepartment of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsThere is an urgent need for biosurveillance of unregulated African meat imports at border points of entry in destination markets. This is underscored by recent pandemics linked to exotic wildlife products. Our objective was to catalog the quantity of meat that is informally transported from Africa into and through Europe often without any veterinary or sanitary checks. We searched and included peer-reviewed studies that contained data on the intercontinental movement of unregulated meat from the African continent. This was followed by an investigation of the reported contamination of such meat. We included fifteen airport studies with limited data on this topic. The references included in this review describe the quantity of meat found at border inspection posts and the presence of pathogens. Disease-causing pathogens were found to be present, and the results are organized into bacteria, virus, and parasite categories. The species of animal meat found in this review were linked to CITES-protected species some of which are known reservoir hosts for infectious diseases. This represents a potential and unquantified human health risk to populations along the supply chain, and a loss to biodiversity in supply countries. Meat samples described in this review were primarily found opportunistically by Customs officials, indicating that any estimate of the total quantities passing undetected through border checkpoints must remain tentative, and cannot rule out the possibility that it is indeed considerably higher. We propose a template for future studies regarding African meat imports at border points of entry. The result of this review illustrates a gap in knowledge and lacunae regarding the amount of unregulated African meat imports worldwide, the pathogens it may contain, and the resulting biodiversity loss that occurs from the intercontinental movement of this meat.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771423001192Systematic reviewOne healthBushmeatPathogensImportsAfrica |
| spellingShingle | S. Morrison-Lanjouw R. Spijker L. Mughini-Gras R.A. Coutinho A.L. Chaber M. Leeflang A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints One Health Systematic review One health Bushmeat Pathogens Imports Africa |
| title | A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints |
| title_full | A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints |
| title_fullStr | A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints |
| title_full_unstemmed | A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints |
| title_short | A systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated African meat imports into and through European border checkpoints |
| title_sort | systematic review of the intercontinental movement of unregulated african meat imports into and through european border checkpoints |
| topic | Systematic review One health Bushmeat Pathogens Imports Africa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771423001192 |
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