The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced an increase in cases of hemorrhagic fever, and considered the situation “serious.”
Today, Saturday, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Saif Al-Badr, said in a statement that “there is a dangerous escalation of hemorrhagic fever infections in Iraq,” noting that “the number of cases of the disease has risen to 96.”
Al-Badr added that “the deaths from hemorrhagic fever have reached 18 so far in all governorates of the country,” noting that “it is possible that there will be another increase in the number of infections due to the presence of suspected cases.”
This comes after all the country’s governorates have taken preventive and court measures to confront “hemorrhagic fever”, and attempt to prevent its appearance in a number of them.
Haidar Hantoush said, according to the Rudaw Media Network today, Saturday, that two new cases of hemorrhagic fever were recorded in Dhi Qar Governorate, bringing the number of people infected with the disease since its spread to 42 cases.
Dhi Qar governorate is witnessing the greatest spread of hemorrhagic fever in Iraq, where the local government decided to take strict measures to avoid new infections.
And the health authorities in Iraq announced, in November 2021, the first death from hemorrhagic fever in the country.
The death rate for those infected with it is 40%
It is noteworthy that hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease with a mortality rate of up to 40%, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus is transmitted to humans through poultry and livestock, as well as between humans through direct contact with the blood, secretions or body fluids of the infected person.
The people most at risk of contracting the disease are livestock breeders and butchers, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
Viral hemorrhagic fever usually raises international concern, as it is characterized by a sudden onset, and symptoms are pain in the muscles and joints, high temperatures, bleeding and shock due to blood loss.
There is no vaccine for this disease in humans or animals, and its primary symptoms are fever, muscle pain and abdominal pain, but when it develops, it leads to bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, leading to failure in the body’s organs, which leads to death, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health.