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A few days before the celebration of Eid-el-Adha, a national information and awareness campaign on the danger posed by hydatid cysts is launched, starting today, by the Ministry of Health, and this in order to prevent this disease.
In a press release made public, the Ministry of Health calls on citizens to respect hygiene rules during the slaughter of their sheep and even afterwards. An appeal is also made to those who perform the ritual of sacrifice regarding the respect of certain measures to avoid any risk of contamination with hydatid cyst.
“The hydatid cyst is endemic in our country and constitutes a public health problem. This disease, which is asymptomatic at its onset, is most often only diagnosed at the complication stage (appearance of cysts in the organs) and then requires surgical intervention, often heavy and complex,” according to the ministry. He continues by affirming that during the sacrifice ceremony, “the factors conducive to the spread of this disease are united”, emphasizing that the disease is curable but at the cost of a costly and difficult surgical intervention, which makes it possible to extract the cyst of the affected organ (liver, lung, heart).
To be safe, the ministry urges citizens to take all measures to have the sacrificed sheep checked by a veterinarian, and in the event that control is not possible, it is specified, it is necessary to carefully examine the offal (liver, lungs) and other viscera of the sheep for cysts or vesicles (water balls).”
The ministry also recommends “boiling or burning the offal and other viscera of the sheep which carry water balls” and “burying them underground (50 cm) so that stray dogs do not dig them up” . He also advises against “abandoning in nature these offal and other sheep viscera which carry balls of water and never giving them to dogs because they constitute the reservoir of the parasite”. He calls for “not to throw away the offal of parasitized sheep with household waste (which constitutes food for stray dogs)”. It is also recommended not to forget to wash your hands before meals and also after petting a dog.
The hydatid cyst or hydatidosis, recalls the ministry, is a parasitic, contagious disease, characterized by the development in humans, most often in the liver or lung, of the larval form of a worm called tapeworm or echinococcus granulosus .
To combat this disease, it is also necessary, throughout the year and not only during Eid-el-Adha, to eliminate stray dogs, prevent them from accessing slaughterhouses and treat those who are sick by veterinarians. You should also wash your hands well before eating and wash fruits and vegetables well before consuming them.
Given that the hydatid cyst is an endemic disease which constitutes a major problem for public health, the ministry believes that increased awareness among the population can help reduce the incidence of this pathology, by applying certain hygiene rules. .
It should be recalled that the Ministry of Agriculture, and in order to ensure veterinary control of sheep, announced the mobilization of more than 2,000 veterinarians to ensure the health of livestock at the various authorized sales points and slaughterhouses. approved, in addition to the mobilization of mobile teams who will travel throughout the neighborhoods.
The veterinarians concerned will ensure, throughout the days preceding Eid, to ensure compliance with hygiene, prevention and veterinary health conditions, through support for breeders, while ensuring that they hold certificates. veterinarians. During the days of Eid, the same veterinarians will have to raise awareness among citizens of the importance of applying the necessary measures to avoid any possible case of hydatid cyst or other diseases affecting livestock.