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. 2023 Oct 8:17:100637.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100637. eCollection 2023 Dec.

A systematic mapping review of links between handling wild meat and zoonotic diseases

Luke Tumelty  1 , Julia E Fa  1   2 , Lauren Coad  1   3 , Sagan Friant  4   5 , Joseph Mbane  6 , Cedric Thibaut Kamogne  6 , Caleb Yengo Tata  7 , Amy Ickowitz  8
Affiliations

A systematic mapping review of links between handling wild meat and zoonotic diseases

Luke Tumelty et al. One Health. .

Abstract

1.Hunting, trade, and consumption of wildlife present a serious threat to global public health as it places humans in close contact with zoonotic pathogens.2.We systematically mapped the literature on wild meat handling and zoonotic disease transmission (1996-2022) using the online database Web of Science and Google search engine and identified 6229 articles out of which 253 were finally selected for use in our mapping review; 51 of these provided specific information regarding transmission risks.3.The reviewed studies reported 43 zoonotic pathogens (17 bacteria, 15 viruses, and 11 parasites) that could pose a potential risk to human health.4.Sixteen hygienic and sanitary behaviours were described in the reviewed studies. Disease surveillance was the most frequent. Most of the surveillance studies were carried out in Europe and were less common in the tropics.5.To inform policy and practical actions effectively, it is imperative to broaden our understanding of how various mitigation behaviours can be employed to minimize the risk of transmission.

Keywords: Bushmeat; Disease prevention; Food-borne disease; Hunting; Meat handling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cumulative curve of publication of studies identified in this investigation over time.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of case studies based on animal taxa and continent.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of case studies based on pathogen type and continent. Pathogens which appeared fewer than 4 times in the sample were excluded from this figure, for the full dataset refer to Supplementary Table 1.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Distribution of sanitary and hygienic behaviours investigated. PERI = Avoidance of carcasses/butchery areas; PRV = Preservation of meat products without heat; UTL = Cleaning of utensils after butchery/harvest; STR = Storage and waste management infrastructure; WASH = Hand washing; PPE = Use of personal Protective Equipment; BIT = Treat injuries sustained from animal handling; HEAT = Preservation or cooking of meat with heat; AV = Avoidance of high-risk taxa, sick animals, undercooked food; LIT = Use of lamp/torch to assist harvest/butchery; WRA = Carcass wrapping/packaging; DRAIN = Draining blood from carcass; TILE = Use of surface for butchery/market display; SEP = Minimize species mixing; ALC = Use of alcohol to disinfect animal parts; VET = Pathogen surveillance.
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References

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