Iraq records 96 more cases of Congo fever

Health 09:58 AM - 2022-05-22

The Ministry of Health of the Federal Government announced that the number of Congo fever cases has risen to 96.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Saif Al-Badr, said in a press statement that at least 96 cases of Congo fever were confirmed in 2022.

Al-Badr declared that 18 people died from the fever, and more than half of these injuries recovered, stressing that the number of cases rose this year compared to previous years.

"The disease is not new but has occurred since the seventies of the last century, but every few years, there is an increase in the number of cases and deaths. In the past year, there was a relative increase according to statistics of one month," he added.

The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, also known as Congo fever, is tick-borne and causes severe hemorrhaging. 

People are often infected after they come into contact with the blood of infected animals, often after slaughtering livestock. The d The symptoms of the disease in its first stage include high temperature, lethargy, and various pains in the body and abdomen in particular.

Congo fever has been endemic to Iraq since 1979, according to World Health Organization (WHO). It can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids.

The disease existed in Iraq with only 20 cases or less in a year, but this year, the country has recorded over 55 cases so far, prompting authorities to take measures to control the disease spread.

Kirkuk recorded the first case of hemorrhagic fever death on May 7.

 

 

PUKmedia