“The order was issued in line with a recent circular from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to inspect beauty parlors following reports that some salons in Jeddah offer fish pedicure to women,” said Bashir Abu Najm, director general of licensing and commercial monitoring at the municipality.

Abu Najm warned that the practice is unhygienic as it can lead to contracting diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis and other dangerous viruses. The practice — which involves customers putting their hands and feet in tanks full of fish — has been deemed unsafe because it is impossible to sanitize live fish.

The technique, which has origins in the Far East, has been banned in 15 US states because of the health risks.

Abu Najm said the municipality has planned to take a number of measures against the practice. He added that violators of health regulations will be severely dealt with.