JEDDAH: The government has set out a 14-point plan to tackle the Alkhurma virus in Jeddah, which includes regular cleaning of the central livestock market and spraying insecticides.
The action plan for the hemorrhagic fever virus, named after the Alkhurma district in Jeddah where it was discovered in 1995, has been entrusted to the Jeddah Secretariat, Health Department, Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and the National Water Company.
According to sources quoted by a local publication, the plan includes launching awareness programs on the disease, including its symptoms and preventive measures, isolating infected people and taking regular samples from the central livestock market.
The Jeddah Secretariat has been tasked with intensifying cleaning and insect control at the central livestock market and the Al-Khurma area. Officials also have to remove animals from unregulated areas, and provide medicated “soaks” for cattle within two months, a source said.
The ministry of agriculture has been ordered to spray barns, conduct tests for the virus and work with other government and private sector bodies to provide the soaks for the animals.
The PME must ensure all factories have proper filters to prevent the emission of pollutants. There would be penalties for those who do not install the adequate filters.
The National Water Company has been asked to ensure that all wastewater is properly treated within one week, and to work on setting up a new site for disposing of these fluids.
The virus was first isolated in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, mainly occurring among butchers, with the fatality rate above 30 percent. It was first discovered in the blood of six male butchers, aged 24 to 39 years, in Jeddah in November and December 1995.
It causes a type of tick-borne hemorrhagic fever with symptoms including fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, vomiting and thrombocytopenia, which lead to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, which can result in death.
Camels and sheep are the natural hosts of this virus.
The action plan for the hemorrhagic fever virus, named after the Alkhurma district in Jeddah where it was discovered in 1995, has been entrusted to the Jeddah Secretariat, Health Department, Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and the National Water Company.
According to sources quoted by a local publication, the plan includes launching awareness programs on the disease, including its symptoms and preventive measures, isolating infected people and taking regular samples from the central livestock market.
The Jeddah Secretariat has been tasked with intensifying cleaning and insect control at the central livestock market and the Al-Khurma area. Officials also have to remove animals from unregulated areas, and provide medicated “soaks” for cattle within two months, a source said.
The ministry of agriculture has been ordered to spray barns, conduct tests for the virus and work with other government and private sector bodies to provide the soaks for the animals.
The PME must ensure all factories have proper filters to prevent the emission of pollutants. There would be penalties for those who do not install the adequate filters.
The National Water Company has been asked to ensure that all wastewater is properly treated within one week, and to work on setting up a new site for disposing of these fluids.
The virus was first isolated in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, mainly occurring among butchers, with the fatality rate above 30 percent. It was first discovered in the blood of six male butchers, aged 24 to 39 years, in Jeddah in November and December 1995.
It causes a type of tick-borne hemorrhagic fever with symptoms including fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, vomiting and thrombocytopenia, which lead to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, which can result in death.
Camels and sheep are the natural hosts of this virus.
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