Rabies killed 18 over 2024 as dog attacks injure tens of thousands in Iraq

BAGHDAD – Iraq recorded more than 46,600 injuries from dog bites and scratches over the past year, along with 18 deaths from rabies, the Health Ministry said Sunday, urging anyone exposed to seek immediate medical care.

Health Ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr said rabies is fatal once symptoms appear, but can be prevented through rapid post-exposure vaccination and serum. “There is no treatment for rabies and it is 100% fatal if symptoms begin to appear, but there are vaccines and serums,” al-Badr said. “Anyone who is bitten must receive them immediately within the first hour.”

Al-Badr said the ministry documented more than 46,600 cases of injuries caused by dog bites and claws across Baghdad, other governorates and the Kurdistan Region during the year. He said 18 people died from rabies and that all of them failed to go to hospitals until after symptoms appeared.

The figures were disclosed during an interview with journalist Jumana Mohammed, as health authorities renewed calls for the public to seek urgent medical attention following any animal bite.

Stray dog attacks have emerged as a growing public safety concern across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, prompting warnings from rights bodies and calls for action to reduce risks, especially to children.

Stray dog attacks have emerged as a growing public safety concern across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, drawing warnings from human rights bodies and calls for urgent action. In Basra, the local office of the High Commission for Human Rights described the situation as a “red-level danger,” saying attacks pose a threat “especially” to children, and urged the governorate to intensify control measures and provide anti-rabies serums under the Child Welfare Law No. 53 of 2008.

Several governorates have launched response campaigns. In Najaf, authorities began a large-scale operation to eliminate stray dogs at the start of the 2025–2026 school year after multiple attacks, saying the effort aims “to protect citizens and preserve public health,” with veterinary and municipal teams deploying about 1,200 poisoned bait traps and urging residents to keep pets indoors.

The issue has also surfaced in the Kurdistan Region. In Sulaymaniyah, Deputy Director General of Health Dr. Hersh Salim was injured in a stray dog attack near the governorate building, later warning that “the relevant authorities are not controlling the growing number of stray dogs.” In Erbil governorate, officials say tens of thousands of dogs have been removed from city centers, yet a six-year-old boy, Mohammed Abdulghafar, was killed in a stray dog attack in Qucheblbas village.