Iraq Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever: A disease called Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever has wreaked havoc in Iraq. This disease is causing the deaths of people here. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 111 cases of a disease called Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever have been reported in Iraq this year. It is being claimed that 19 of these people have died.
fast spreading disease
The disease is spreading rapidly in rural areas of Iraq, with half of the country’s cases being reported in the southern province alone. According to doctors, the fever virus causes severe bleeding both internally and externally and especially from the nose. People die in every 2 to 5 cases.
Officers troubled by matters
Haider Hantouche, a health official in ‘Dhi Kar Province’, said the number of cases reported was unprecedented. The increase in cases this year has stunned the authorities, as the number is much higher than the 43 recorded last year. Let us tell you that this virus was first recorded in Iraq in 1979. The disease is spread by the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this disease (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne virus. The disease was first detected in Crimea in 1944 and was named Crimean hemorrhagic fever. It was later recognized as the cause of the disease in the Congo in 1969, resulting in the disease’s current name.
Mortality rate is between 10 to 40 percent
The WHO said that animals become infected by the bites of infected ticks. The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or by contact with blood or tissues during slaughter of infected animals. According to the WHO, the mortality rate of CCHF is between 10 and 40 percent.
Vaccine does not exist
There is no vaccine for this virus and its onset can be rapid. The CDC stated that the long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied sufficiently to determine whether specific complications exist. However, its recovery is slow.
Animals infected by tick bites
The WHO says that this virus spreads to people through ticks on animals, so most cases are between farmers, slaughterhouses and veterinarians. After this, it spreads from human to human due to close contact with blood, organs or any body fluid. This virus causes high fever and vomiting, along with uncontrolled bleeding.
There may be a huge increase in cases after Eid
At the same time, doctors fear that cases of the disease could explode after the Muslim festival Bakrid in July, when families traditionally slaughter animals to feed guests. However, the virus has also adversely affected the consumption of meat in the country. Many butchers say that the cattle coming for slaughter have fallen to half the level. Fares Mansoor, director of Najaf Veterinary Hospital, said people are afraid of red meat and think it can spread infection.
