Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai (SR)

Dubai, Jul 18: The ministry of Health and Prevention has issued fresh warning against butchering sacrificial animals at home ahead of Eid Al Adha, saying improper slaughter can lead to serious diseases.

It is common for Muslim families during Eid Al Adha to have a goat or lamb butchered to prepare a feast. The butchered meat is divided into three parts, one part is kept for the family and the other two parts are shared among relatives and the underprivileged.

With less than two months for the festival, the ministry has cautioned people to ensure that they purchase meat from licensed butchers or risk contracting diseases including Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). The virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals but human-to-human transmission can occur from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected organisms. As per rules licensed butchers have their livestock tested for CCHF prior to slaughtering the animals.