“The total number of confirmed cases of hemorrhagic fever since the beginning of the year until now has reached 178, including 26 deaths,” Saif al-Badr, spokesperson for Iraq’s health ministry, told state media.
Dhi Qar province, known for rearing cattle, sheep, and goats, all of which are potential carriers of the disease, leads the country in hemorrhagic fever cases.
In the Kurdistan Region, Duhok province has five confirmed cases and followed by Sulaimani with three cases.
The Crimean-Congo fever is a tick-borne infection that causes severe hemorrhaging. It has been endemic to Iraq since 1979 but has made a resurgence since 2021 sparking fear among the population, especially in Iraq's southern provinces.
The disease can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Signs of the fever include bleeding, excessive headaches, fatigue, blue marks on the skin, and hematuria - blood in the urine.
