Illegally imported bushmeat contained bacteria: study

WASHINGTON: Bushmeat illegally imported from Africa and seized at five top US airports often contained potentially dangerous bacteria, according to a new study made public here.

The study led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was published by PLoS ONE magazine.

Items confiscated as part of the study included raw to semi-cooked animal parts, including those of primates like baboons and chimpanzees as well as various rodent species.

Among the pathogens identified in the products were a zoonotic retrovirus, simian foamy viruses, and several nonhuman primate herpesviruses.

"Exotic wildlife pets and bushmeat are Trojan horses that threaten humankind at sites where they are collected in the developing world as well as the US," said Ian Lipkin, a researcher from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

The United States is one of the largest consumers of imported wildlife products and wildlife.