2023-06-04 15:56:24
Deaths are still being announced among people with hemorrhagic fever in a number of Iraqi governorates, during the past few days.
In the latest figures, the Ministry of Health in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq announced a few days ago that two deaths were recorded in Erbil Governorate, while the Kirkuk Governorate in the north of the country recorded one death, on Saturday, calling on citizens to be careful and not to buy meat of unknown origin, and to avoid mixing with livestock.
This sounds an alarm, according to experts, who warn that the disease, which was confined to a number of governorates such as Dhi Qar in the south of the country, has begun to spread throughout the country.
In the latest statistics revealed by the Iraqi Ministry of Health, regarding a week ago, the ministry confirmed that hemorrhagic fever infections in the country amounted to 139 since the beginning of this year, including 20 deaths, calling on the Ministries of Interior and Municipalities to “address the issue of grazing, indiscriminate slaughter, and improper transportation of animals between cities and provinces.
The director of the Kirkuk Health Department, Ziyad al-Jubouri, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia:
- We have 3 cases, including one death as a result of complications from the disease, and two cases, one confirmed and the second suspected.
- Al-Shifa Hospital in Kirkuk provided us with all medicines, supplies and specialized medical personnel, in anticipation of any emergency and any possible epidemic wave.
- We coordinate with the concerned and competent authorities in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Directorate of Veterinary Affairs, the municipality, the governorate, organized crime and other security agencies, to investigate and monitor the epidemiology through field teams to detect the affected areas and prevent the disease from spreading, dealing with suspected cases among livestock, monitoring meat shops and preventing cases of indiscriminate slaughter.
- The biggest role in combating this epidemic lies with the municipal, veterinary and agricultural departments, and we, as the Ministry of Health, are a supportive body for these departments by spreading preventive awareness regarding this disease among citizens and by assuming treatment of infected patients to save their lives.
- The most important thing in such circumstances is not to buy meat from street vendors or unlicensed shops, with the need for that meat to be stamped with the seal of the concerned authorities, and to adhere to the rules of general and personal hygiene, while cooking the meat well.
What is hemorrhagic fever?
It is a viral fever that is usually transmitted from infected animals to humans through contaminated blood or meat, and due to the absence of supervision and weak health precautions and preventive controls in the work of butcheries, and the slaughter of sick animals without examination and control.
Although the virus dies if infected meat contaminated with the virus is well cooked, it may even be transmitted through the blood of infected animals.
Experts warn that the virus may also be transmitted from one person to another, especially through sexual contact or saliva and various body fluids.
symptoms
Early symptoms include fever, tiredness, weakness, or general malaise, dizziness, muscle, bone, or joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
As for the symptoms that may become life-threatening, they include bleeding under the skin or in the internal organs or from the mouth, eyes or ears, and dysfunction in the nervous system, with coma, delirium, and sometimes renal, respiratory and hepatic failure.
infection routes
Viral hemorrhagic fever is spread through contact with infected animals or insects. The viruses that cause infection live in many animal and insect hosts, and they often include mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, or bats.
Some types of viral hemorrhagic fevers are transmitted through mosquito or tick bites, others are transmitted through contact with infected fluids, such as blood, saliva or semen, and several other types can be transmitted through inhalation of infected rat droppings.
And if you travel to an area where a certain hemorrhagic fever is common, you may become infected without showing symptoms until following a while, and it may take from two to 21 days for symptoms to appear, depending on the type of virus.
Methods of prevention
If you live in, work in, or travel to areas where these diseases are common, protect yourself from infection by using appropriate protective measures when handling blood or body fluids, such as wearing gloves and eye and face protection.
Precautions also include caution when handling, disinfecting, and disposing of laboratory samples and waste.
Although there is no specific treatment for most types of viral hemorrhagic fevers, the drugs “Ribavirin” and “Verazole” may help shorten the course of some types of infection and prevent complications in some cases.
Some types of viral hemorrhagic fevers are dengue, Ebola, Lassa, Marburg, and yellow fever.
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