Third Crimean-Congo Fever Case Confirmed in Nineveh

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A third case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever has been recorded in Nineveh province, according to the Nineveh Health Directorate. The patient is a 57-year-old man from Shirqat district in Salahuddin province. He was admitted to Mosul's Salam Education Hospital on June 7 under suspicion of infection and transferred to Al-Shifa Specialized Hospital in Mosul after testing confirmed the diagnosis by the Baghdad Public Health Central Laboratory. The two previous patients in Nineveh have been discharged after completing treatment, health officials said. Earlier reports indicated two young people from the Qayyara district also contracted the fever and have since recovered. Ministry of Health Spokesperson Seyf al-Badr said 145 confirmed cases and 9 deaths from the disease have been recorded nationwide since the start of the year. The ministry warned that the illness spreads from animals to humans, particularly affecting butchers, shepherds and slaughterhouse workers, and called for preventive measures to be followed.