MoHAP warns of health hazards due to illegal slaughtering

The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, has issued a warning against the risks of the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, CCHF, virus, caused as a result of the indiscriminate slaughtering of sacrificial animals at homes or by unauthorised street butchers.

Such illegal slaughtering cases have been on the rise, especially with the approach of Eid Al Adha.

CCHF is classified among the list of priority diseases. If a person is infected with the virus, it should be reported within 24 hours so that the relevant authorities can undertake rapid intervention for epidemiological surveillance.

Dr. Fatima Al Attar, Director, International Health Regulations and Pandemic Control Office, said that Crimean Fever is transmitted to humans through a tick bite, or by direct contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals during or immediately after slaughter.

The virus can also be transmitted from one person to another through direct contact with the infected person's blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids.

Al Attar emphasised the importance of visiting health authorities and notifying them of the previous infection and its accompanying symptoms within two weeks of being exposed to the pathogens.

Crimean Fever symptoms include fever, muscle pain, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, back pain, headaches, eye inflammation and sensitivity to light.

Symptoms that may appear at the onset of the disease include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and a sore throat.

Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al-Rand, Undersecretary of the Ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centres and Clinics, shed light on the MoHAP’s strenuous efforts to provide comprehensive and innovative healthcare services to prevent the spread of diseases in society. He stressed that the MoHAP was cooperating with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Abu Dhabi Health Authorities, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and the country’s municipalities to ensure the health and safety of the people. This includes encouraging healthy practices while dealing with sacrificial animals, in a way that prevents the spread of diseases such as Crimean fever.

Al Rand said that all Crimean fever cases were successfully detected during the last few years due to the rigorous system of the MoHAP, the epidemiological surveillance of the acute haemorrhagic fever by other health authorities and the precision of the laboratory diagnosis.

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