Abstract Wild animals provide essential nutritional and economic benefits to many communities in the tropics, yet their handling and consumption carry significant health risks. Wild meat can harbour foodborne (e.g., Salmonella or Giardia ) and zoonotic (e.g., Ebola virus, Monkeypox virus, Marburg virus, Lassa virus, coronaviruses, simian retroviruses, and influenza viruses) pathogens that cause routine and often severe illnesses, local outbreaks, and occasionally pandemics. The hunting and consumption of wild meat is deeply embedded in local cultures and trade remains largely unregulated in many countries, making prohibitive policies ineffective or counterproductive. This 2-year project in Cameroon examined health risks associated with wild meat handling and consumption across the entire value chain – from hunting and transport to market sale and preparation. Structured questionnaires (n = 2374), focus group discussions (n = 20), and key informant interviews (n = 64) were carried out with hunters, food preparers, and vendors across 44 rural villages and three small town markets. Following a social and behavioural change campaign, an endline survey (n = 578) was administered in 12 villages that participated in the study and four control villages for programme evaluation. By investigating behaviours that expose actors to potential disease transmission, it generated evidence-based recommendations for activities and policies to mitigate these risks. Combining social science with veterinary research and practice, the project provided a holistic picture of risk and developed concrete strategies for reducing zoonotic transmission linked to wild meat. Information © The Authors 2026
Friant et al. (Tue,) studied this question.