Six workers at the Marsa slaughterhouse were hospitalised over the weekend to be treated for a skin infection, probably contracted from some pigs taken for slaughter. Sources said the employees received treatment at Boffa Hospital for ringworm and were released.

However, their colleagues were worried yesterday, with a large number calling in sick.

Employees who did turn up boosted their personal protection, covering themselves in full bodysuits and, in some cases, a double layer of gloves.

Questions sent to the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Welfare, Roderick Galdes, who is responsible for the abattoir, remained unanswered by the time of going to print.

Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin and, although its name suggests it, has nothing to do with a worm. Ringworm causes a scaly, crusted rash that gets itchy.

Ringworm occurs when a type of fungus called tinea grows and multiplies on the skin. It can be successfully treated with antifungal medications used either in the form of creams or orally.

Ringworm can easily spread from one person to another, even by simply touching someone who has the infection or coming into contact with items contaminated by the fungus.

People who have close contact with large numbers of animals, such as farmers, abattoir workers, shearers, knackery workers and veterinarians, are at a higher risk of contracting a zoonotic disease – animal diseases which also affect humans.

Sources said ringworm is not dangerous for those who eat pork as it is only a fungus found on the pig’s skin. Once the skin is removed in the meat process, the fungus dies.