Deadly virus: Contrary to city managers’ claims, Congo fever unheard of

CDA launched campaign to educate butchers on preventive measures ahead of Eidul Azha.

ISLAMABAD:

City managers’ claims regarding awareness generation about taking preventive measures against Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in the capital during Eidul Azha have fallen flat as butchers and passersby interviewed by The Express Tribune expressed complete ignorance of the disease.

During an informal survey, nine out of 10 butchers in various sectors of the capital said they did not know what Congo fever was. Faisal Qureshi, who runs a meat shop in Sector G-9/4, said, “I know about dengue fever but I’ve never heard about Congo fever.”

“In my 15 years as a butcher, I have never seen any city administration official come to tell me or my employees about this disease.” When asked about introducing the use of gloves and masks while slaughtering animals and handling meat, he laughed and said, “If we become that sophisticated, how will we continue our trade?”

Mohammad Sharif, who works in a meat shop in G-10, also had not heard about the deadly disease, which is transmitted by ticks. In addition, no official has ever visited the slaughterhouse to educate butchers or workers about Congo fever.

Pakistan Butchers Welfare Association President Khurshid Qureshi, who is also director of the Livestock Dairy Development Board, said, “The city administration has never run any awareness campaign to educate butchers about Congo fever.”

People accompanying sacrificial animals on roads or in commercial areas were also unaware of any precautionary measure against Congo fever. Saad, 18, asked, “How can a sacrificial animal transmit fever to a human, we have never heard about it.”

A recent CDA meeting with the World Health Organisation (WHO) decided to distribute pamphlets in 25 mosques and commercial areas to create awareness about Congo fever. Clerics have been directed to explain precautionary measures in their Friday and Eid sermons.

Capital Development Authority Director Health Services, Dr Hassan Urooj said that after two Congo fever cases were reported from nearby areas of Rawalpindi earlier this month, the authority alerted various department including sanitation, environment, education, municipal administration, livestock, and the Islamabad Capital Territory administration to play their role in taking preventive measures.

He claimed fumigation is being carried out in cattle markets daily, but accepted that, “We aren’t specifically educating vulnerable groups through any awareness campaign, but we’re using the media to convey our message,” he said, adding that while the CDA has asked butchers to wear gloves and masks while slaughtering sacrificial animals, it cannot force them to.

Talking to The Express Tribune, WHO Focal Person for Vector Control Dr Qutbuddin Kakar said there is an elevated risk of a Congo fever outbreak this year, which is why precautionary measures were decided on with the CDA. He also said butchers will also be educated about precautionary measures while slaughtering sacrificial animals and disposing of hides and animal remains.

The city administration has never run any awareness campaign to educate butchers about Congo fever
Pakistan Butchers Welfare Association President Khurshid Qureshi

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2012.