Preservative chemicals as a new health risk related to traditional medicine markets in western Africa

Stanislas Zanvo; Chabi A M S Djagoun; Akomian F Azihou; Brice Sinsin; Philippe Gaubert

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100268

Preservative chemicals as a new health risk related to traditional medicine markets in western Africa

One Health. 2021 May 19:13:100268. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100268. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Stanislas Zanvo^{1

2}, Chabi A M S Djagoun¹, Akomian F Azihou¹, Brice Sinsin¹, Philippe Gaubert^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526 Cotonou, Benin.
² Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), CNRS/UPS/IRD, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier - Bâtiment 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France.
³ Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Health risks associated to the use of tropical wildlife have so far been envisioned through the lens of zoonotic pathogens spread by the bushmeat trade, putting aside the equally vibrant network of traditional medicine markets (TMMs). We collected information on the preservative techniques used for animal body parts from TMMs in Benin through a semi-structured questionnaire addressed to 45 sellers. We show that a recent shift from traditional preservative techniques using harmless treatments towards modern techniques -involving the recurrent use of hazardous chemicals (such as Sniper)- is likely to pose a serious health risk to practitioners and consumers of animal parts from TMMs in Benin. We conclude that the non-regulation of the TMM activities represents a critical risk to both biodiversity conservation and human health in western Africa.

Keywords: Animal body parts; Health risk; Sniper; Traditional medicine market; Western Africa; Wildlife trade.