Infections to cholera, Crimean Congo fever top 1,000 cases: Ministry

Unsafe drinking water during the summertime drought is believed to have fueled the rise in cholera infections.
A member of a veterinary team talks to farmers during a cattle disinfection campaign in Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk, a day after registering the first death of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever as cases of the virus spread to the country'
A member of a veterinary team talks to farmers during a cattle disinfection campaign in Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk, a day after registering the first death of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever as cases of the virus spread to the country'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that cholera and Crimean Congo fever infections in Iraq have surpassed 1,000 cases since the beginning of 2022.

Transmitted via ticks from infected animals, almost 300 cases have been recorded up until now, 55 of which are fatal, according to the official tally released by the ministry’s spokesperson Saif Al-Badr.

The southern Dhi Qar Governorate is the epicenter of both infections and deaths to hemorrhagic fever, which has a fatality rate of up to 40 percent.

The Kurdistan Region has five infections during the same period. Only one person died of the virus in Erbil, according to health authorities in the Kurdish city.

More than 890 cholera infections have similarly been recorded across different Iraqi provinces during the same period, the health official added.

Unsafe drinking water during the summertime drought is believed to have fueled the rise in cholera infections.

Only four people have died of complications of the disease, per the tally.

There is no known cure or vaccine against the fever.

Lack of disinfectant spraying and staff shortages coupled with random animal slaughtering on the streets have been cited as a few factors behind the rise. 

However, the two diseases are not uncommon in Iraq, and the unprecedented increase in infections has worried health authorities this time.