Iraq records 31 deaths of Congo fever in 2022

On Tuesday, the Federal Ministry of Health announced a new statistic of Congo fever infection cases and deaths in Iraq since the beginning of 2022.

The ministry's spokesman, Saif al-Badr, stated that since the beginning of 2022, 170 cases were recorded, including 31 deaths.

Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture identified 4 factors that contributed to the high incidence of Congo fever in Iraq while showing mechanisms for combating animal diseases and pests.

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 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 150 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