Congo on Eid

Health departments urge to pay more heed to the issue in order to prevent a potential epidemic

Annual warnings have been issued for the Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) as Eidul Azha fast approaches. Owing to our poor regulatory control and negligible regard for human health and safety, the warning must not be taken lightly by consumers of meat and livestock handlers. The National Agricultural Research Centre’s (NARC) information release is probably the maximum level of concern we will experience by any authority. Ergo, awareness on precautions will need to be delivered, particularly to the lowly educated staff comprising the professional body that handles livestock and cattle ahead of Eidul Azha. Still, health departments are urged to pay more heed to the issue in order to prevent a potential epidemic. With its fourth place ranking in the highest number of cases in the region, Pakistan cannot afford to act willy-nilly. There is no vaccine or preventive medicine, according to Iamat, a non-profit organisation that provides health information to travellers. Karachi, being a metropolis, is frequently hit. The Lancet reported in December 2016 that since Pakistan’s first confirmed case in 1976, the incidence has increased indicating our inability to curtail disease spread. This is unsurprising, considering we are still battling polio despite the availability and accessibility of modern medicine. In practical terms, prevention of the spread of CCHF can immediately be achieved if well-trained staff is hired to implement measures at cattle markets, including forcing visitors to wear full-length clothing and refraining from touching animals, among others advised by NARC. The most logical step would be to eradicate public cattle markets where entire families visit with young children possessing weak or developing immune systems. However, this would come with significant public outcry. Those protesting such a move would take it as a slight to their customs and rituals, already acting aloof to the grave dangers the disease poses.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2018.

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