Deadly Nose-bleed Fever Shocks Iraq as Cases Surge; Slaughterhouses Under Scrutiny
News 18Spraying a cow with pesticides, health workers target blood-sucking ticks at the heart of Iraq’s worst detected outbreak of a fever that causes people to bleed to death. “The number of cases recorded is unprecedented,” said Haidar Hantouche, a health official in Dhi Qar province. “The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter,” it adds. The numbers are still tiny compared with the Covid-19 pandemic — where Iraq has registered over 25,200 deaths and 2.3 million recorded cases, according to WHO figures — but health workers are worried. Slaughterhouses under scrutiny Since the virus is “primarily transmitted” to people via ticks on livestock, most cases are among farmers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians, the WHO says.
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