'Iraq records 90 infected and 18 deaths of viral hemorrhagic fever': Health Ministry

“The number of infected people will continue to increase because we have already registered many suspected cases.”

Dler S. Mohammed 2022/05/21 19:34

The Spokesman of the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, Saif Al-Badr. (Photo: Saif Al-Badr/Twitter)

Iraq Saif Al-Badr Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment Viral Hemorrhagic Fever VHF

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Spokesman of the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, Saif Al-Badr, announced on Saturday that “there is a dangerous rise in viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) cases in Iraq."

Al-Badr explained that the “number of infected people by VHF has so far reached 90 cases throughout Iraq,” and that 18 VHF-related deaths have already been recorded in the country.

“The number of infected people will continue to increase because we have already registered many suspected cases,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a workshop in collaboration with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Syndicate of Veterinarians, and the Medical Association on options for combating VHF in Iraq, according to a statement.

"The project activity included, in addition to training courses for veterinary staff (currently ongoing), providing equipment, devices, and materials for field and laboratory diagnosis of diseases," the statement added.

The workshop concluded by making several recommendations. The recommendations included establishing a crisis cell to control the disease, launching awareness campaigns for breeders and butchers, rehabilitating existing slaughterhouses and building new ones, and reactivating the Supreme Committee for Epidemiological Disease Control in the Council of Ministers.

Health officials in the Kurdistan Region recorded the first case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the capital Erbil on May 10.

The Erbil General Health Directorate announced that a 17-year-old butcher tested positive for the fever.

According to Al-Badr, in previous years, the country would record about 20 cases of VHF per year. This year, however, it has already recorded four times that amount.