key: cord-0789718-zypjo7du
authors: Butt, Muhammad H.; Ahmad, Abrar; Misbah, Shahzadi; Mallhi, Tauqeer H.; Khan, Yusra H.
title: Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever and Eid‐Ul‐Adha: A potential threat during the COVID‐19 pandemic
date: 2020-08-13
journal: J Med Virol
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26388
sha: 0d1404679e828decfddf0d8cea694a58cb74a03d
doc_id: 789718
cord_uid: zypjo7du

Pakistan is celebrating Eid-Ul-Adha in the first week of August 2020. Eid-Ul-Adha is an annual religious festival during which millions of farm animals including goats, cows, sheep and camels are sacrificed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

has issued warnings on high risks of CCHF transmission during the current year. 6 Advance purchase of animals before Eid-Ul-Adha is a common practice in Pakistan. Most of these animals are placed in residential areas, preferably at homes. Moreover, people prefer the self-slaughter of animals due to the unavailability of butchers during the time of festivity.

In-house slaughtering by professional butchers is also observed as it is considered more convenient than going to abattoirs. These practices facilitate the animal-to-human transmission of disease. It is pertinent to mention that CCHF is primarily confined to the rural areas of Pakistan.

Thousands of farmers from rural regions migrate to urban areas to sell their animals before the festival. These migratory activities remain uncontrolled and lack health checks on transported animals, resulting in disease spread to the urban regions. In addition, freelancers and nonprofessional slaughterers, low awareness and lack of butchery training, poor regulation on animal sale, animal slaughtering at public places, gathering around the slaughtered animals, inappropriate disposal methods and handling of animal blood, tissues and skin are some factors leading to zoonotic transmission of CCHF to the general community. 2, 7 It is important to note that virus contraction by health care professionals during the management of CCHF patients has been observed in Pakistan. Moreover, deaths of physicians, surgeons, and nurses while treating the CCHF patients have raised substantial concerns in the past. 8 As the COVID-19 pandemic has already

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