Diyala launches awareness campaign as local hemorrhagic fever cases rise to five

DIYALA — Veterinary and health authorities in Diyala have launched an awareness campaign targeting residents and butchers as hemorrhagic fever cases in the governorate rose to five, with livestock movement restrictions imposed across multiple districts.

Mohammed Ghadban, director of the veterinary hospital in Baqubah, told 964media that regional bans on transporting livestock had been enforced in Khan Bani Saad, Al-Abbara, Al-Azim, Muqdadiya and Mandali following suspected cases. “We are applying regional bans on transporting livestock in the event of suspected cases to limit the transmission vector of the disease to humans,” he said, describing the virus as “endemic in Iraq, but weak,” and stressing the importance of quarantining animals alongside awareness seminars coordinated with relevant authorities.

The five cases were reported in villages in the Boushneif area of Al-Azim subdistrict, as well as Al-Abbara, Khan Bani Saad and most recently Mandali district, where a man in his sixties who works as a butcher was infected. Ghadban declined to provide official statistics.

The rise comes days before Eid al-Adha, when livestock slaughter increases sharply across Iraq. Dhi Qar Provincial Council announced Sunday it had recorded 41 cases and six deaths, calling for the closure of the governorate’s main slaughterhouse. Hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through tick bites or contact with infected animals, meat, skin and bodily fluids, with butchers, livestock breeders and traders among the most vulnerable. The Health Ministry has warned that delays in seeking treatment can lead to fatal complications, while early diagnosis significantly improves recovery chances.