Muscat: A number of livestock farms have been shut down in the North and South Sharqiyah governorates of Oman, to limit the spread of the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

 

Authorities said they had identified violations of regulations introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on some of the farms.

 

Those measures include carrying out periodical cleaning on the farm, wearing gloves and special uniforms, using special pesticides to kill ticks and avoiding the mixing of new livestock with old animals.

 

An Ministry of Agriculture official told Gulf News the ministry has been intensifying inspections on the farms and conducting intensive campaigns for owners of livestock about the best way to contain the disease.

 

The official added samples from the livestock farms are being taken every week and sent to the main laboratory in the country.

 

The spread of the tick-borne disease has hit many livestock owners hard, as residents are reluctant to buy livestock from affected areas.

 

Rashid Al Wahaibi, an Ibra resident who owns a livestock farm, told Gulf News he used to get a decent income from the selling of the livestock before the spread of the disease.

However, dozens of his animals have died due to the disease, Al Wahaibi said. He said authorities have provided him with pesticides, gloves and special uniforms, which helped in fighting the disease.

Naser Al Junaibi, another livestock owner, said he keeps his own animals away from those which have the disease.

He added that he was selling 10 head of livestock per week after examining them in the laboratory to make sure they don’t have the disease.

Mohammad Al Marshoodi, an Ibra resident, told Gulf News he prefers to buy livestock from farms in other provinces where the disease has not been reported.

“I went to Nizwa livestock market to buy two heads as Ramadan is approaching,” said Al Marshoodi.

There are around 100 heads of livestock died in the past three months due to the CCHF.

Meanwhile, Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has raised the level of preventive measures to limit the spread of the (CCHF) in some livestock farms.

The ministry’s new measures include that an Omani national can import only ten head of livestock per month for slaughtering purposes, including not more than two head of cattle at a time.

The measures also prohibit Omanis from importing livestock for breeding on farms.

The ministry asked all livestock importing agents to adhere to the conditions.

The ministry also activated the internal quarantine measures in farms that are suspected of having sold animals infected with CCHF. These farms are banned from selling or buying animals until the risks of CCHF are gone.

The owners of the livestock have to bring livestock to the veterinaries for treatment for the possibility of contracting the (CCHF).

The warning came after two people died of CCHF at the beginning of May in South and North Sharqiyah after they approached hospitals late after their condition had worsened.

The Ministry of Health and other government agencies are monitoring the spread of the disease as well as educating people of the risks and how to fight it as there is no effective vaccine available for both humans and animals.

Wearing gloves and other protective clothing is recommended. Individuals should also avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of livestock or humans who show symptoms of infection.

Last February, an Omani national died of haemorrhagic Congo fever in Buraimi province, the Ministry of Health said.

The man caught the fever after he bought goats from a commercial livestock farm in Buraimi, a ministry statement said.

Crimean — Congo haemorrhagic fever claimed five lives in 2016 so far.

In 2015, Omani authorities reported 20 cases, and 20 per cent of the patients died.

The first case of haemorrhagic Congo fever was reported in Oman in 1995.