Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a tick-borne disease spread by ticks (pictured), broke out in Iraq, with 120 cases and 20 deaths so far this year. There is no vaccine to prevent or cure the disease, and the mortality rate is 40%. The haemorrhagic fever is not new, but authorities are concerned that the surge in cases in Iraq this year has surpassed the total since the disease first emerged in 1979.
Mortality rate as high as 40%
Because this is a zoonotic infectious disease, animals and humans will also be infected by the bite of ticks with viruses, and the hosts include cattle and sheep. or secretions, there is a chance of infection. Most of Iraq’s cases are now concentrated in the impoverished agricultural province of Dhi Qar in the south, where health officials say the number of cases in the province has been exhausted in the past few years, but this year is unprecedented. The WHO says the onset of the disease can be very rapid, causing severe bleeding both inside and outside the body. According to the information of the Hong Kong Department of Health, “Crimea-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever” is prevalent throughout Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia. The incubation period following being bitten by a tick is regarding 1 to 3 days, and the patient usually has a sudden fever, fatigue, and dizziness. , headache, eye pain and other symptoms; may also have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Most cases have signs of hepatitis, severe illness or acute kidney failure, liver failure or lung failure.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/international/Iraq records 120 cases, 20 deaths-Crimea-Congo haemorrhagic fever outbreak/322044
