Tick management and Congo fever prevention

Ticks and Congo fever

Hard ticks, especially Hyalomma species, live on cattle, goats and sheep and hide in cracks in sheds and walls. Congo fever is a serious viral disease. People are infected by tick bites, by crushing ticks, or through contact with the blood and tissues of infected animals, often during slaughter.

Signs of ticks

• Small, flat, eight-legged creatures on animals, which swell after feeding.
• Ticks in cracks of animal sheds, boundary walls and yards.
• Animals scratching or with visible ticks around ears, udders and tail.

What we treat

• Animal sheds, yards and boundary walls.
• Cracks and crevices where ticks hide.
• Areas where sacrificial animals will be kept before Eid.

Treatment approach

We apply a suitable acaricide to the premises (not to the animals) following the label. Treatment of the animals themselves should be done by a veterinarian.

Treatment reduces ticks on the premises; it cannot remove ticks that arrive on newly purchased animals. Check animals before bringing them home and repeat checks daily.

Protect your family

• Wear full sleeves and gloves when handling animals.
• Never crush ticks with bare hands.
• Check animals, and children who play with them, after visiting an animal market.
• Wear gloves during slaughter and avoid contact with blood.
• Fever after a tick bite or after slaughter: see a doctor at once and mention the exposure.

Safety precautions

• Animals, feed and water troughs are removed from the area during treatment and returned only after the time specified.
• Products are chosen for the target pest and the place being treated, and must be registered or otherwise legally authorised in Pakistan for that use.
• Every application follows the manufacturer's label: dose, method, site and precautions.
• Our team wears protective equipment suited to the product and the task.
• Food, drinking water, utensils, toys, animal feed and aquariums are removed or covered before treatment.
• Children, pets and other occupants follow the precautions we give for that specific treatment.
• Re-entry time depends on the product, formulation, ventilation and surface. We tell you on the day, rather than using one fixed time for every job.
• You receive written post-treatment instructions.

Standards we work to: the WHO guidance on pesticide use for vector and public health pest control, the FAO/WHO International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, the WHO hazard classification of pesticides, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles, together with Pakistan’s pesticide law. See the standards we follow →