Nassir Abdullah Muftah holding the injection to cure airsacculitis.
The first medication of its kind in the Gulf region has been developed in Qatar to treat airsacculitis, a bacterial infection that affects falcons.
Nassir Abdullah Muftah, the man behind the medicine told The Peninsula that the medication which comes in injections is effective to treat falcons with airsacculitis. “The airsac infection hits the respiratory system and it affects the bird’s flying, the general health, so the falcon wouldn’t be able to fly and it was a very hard case to treat before, I developed my treatment.” Muftah who is also the owner and founder of Oryx Falcon Veterinarian located at Al Aziziyah stressed that by using the said treatment, the disease will be cured within seven days. He had developed the medication for over seven years which is a combination of antibiotics.
The airsac infection medication is among his other 16 medicines which are available exclusively in his clinic. Others include vitamins for general health, power restoration, and treatment of bacterial infection. Before making it available in the market, the medicine was tested on his falcon, being a falconer himself. “Later on, I started treating my friends’ falcons and I had an idea to put it in the market under my name. After a few months, it boomed, everybody was looking for it, and everybody has a positive feedback.”
The medicine became a hit among the public and even celebrities. “It has proved resistance and durability especially in the beginning of the falcon season from September until March and it’s the most selling medication we have,” he explained.
Developing the airsac medication stemmed from Muftah’s passion and dedication to medical research and the love for animals. “I like science, biology, chemistry, physics, and I’ve always liked animals. I do a lot of medical research and be ahead of the whole falconry scene. I believe that there’s no case that is untreatable – for every problem, there’s a solution.” Muftah is among the 180 companies participating at the Katara International Hunting & Falcons Exhibition or S’hail which concluded yesterday.
Oryx Falcon Veterinarian also offers equipment for the falcon including leather gloves, leather hoods, straps for the feet, and from microchip to talimount, and minor and major surgeries. The clinic can treat a maximum of 50 falcons and can test over 50 birds for walk-in. “Our success rate is over 85 percent,” Muftah said.
