With Eid al Adha round the corner, citizens and residents of the Sultanate of Oman are getting ready to buy the Eid sacrifice. The authorities concerned have called upon everyone to take precautions while buying the animal for slaughter and to ensure that they are free from diseases and external parasites, especially ticks.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MoAFWR) advised people to slaughter animals in the municipality’s slaughterhouses to preserve public health. It also urged all to eat the meat suitable for human consumption, free of diseases and pathogens.
It confirmed that it works to take all preventive measures to check the spread of diseases common among humans and animals, including infection with the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus and work to combat it because fatality among humans from this disease is approximately 40 per cent. The transmission cycle of infection goes through three mediums: Humans, animals and ticks. It usually go unnoticed, except when human infections occur, as infection is usually not visible in live or slaughtered animals.
The ministry’s efforts are focused on strengthening the procedures and systems of quarantine for livestock to ensure that they are free of ticks and all other external parasites, taking the necessary samples and sending them to the specialised laboratories of the ministry, and not releasing the quarantined animals until after ensuring that they are safe and free of ticks or any other diseases.
It also collects samples from commercial companies, farms and breeders’ barns and conducts laboratory tests for them in case of suspected disease. It sprays animals and barns with safe insecticides within the plan to combat external parasites. Moreover, the MoAFWR conducts epidemiological investigations near the sites of human infection and continues awareness campaigns to urge citizens and residents to adhere to healthy practices in dealing with animals when slaughtering, especially during the Eid festival.
For its part, the Ministry of Health said that adhering to precautionary measures when dealing with the sacrifice will preserve your health and avoid infection with Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). It cautioned against touching or squashing the tick if found on the sacrificial animal. The ministry also advised to wear suitable and protective clothing, and to ensure proper waste management after slaughtering process to prevent the spread of CCHF.
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