Iraq records 219 hemorrhagic fever cases, 16 deaths in 2026 to date

BAGHDAD — Iraq has confirmed 219 cases of hemorrhagic fever and 16 deaths since the start of 2026, the Health Ministry said Tuesday, with the southern governorate of Dhi Qar accounting for nearly half the total.

Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr told the Iraqi News Agency that Dhi Qar had recorded 101 confirmed cases and eight deaths this year, the highest of any governorate. Cases have also been reported across much of the country, including Muthanna, Basra, Maysan, Wasit, Diyala, Babil, Baghdad, Nineveh, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, Karbala, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Najaf, Diwaniyah and Anbar.

In the last week of June alone, the ministry recorded 23 cases and three deaths, al-Badr said, with 10 of the cases and two of the deaths in Dhi Qar. The disease is monitored nationwide through epidemiological surveillance teams working with veterinary and regulatory authorities, he said, and the National Center for Crisis and Disaster Management declared a nationwide state of readiness earlier this month to curb its spread.

Al-Badr said early symptoms include fever, headache, body aches and fatigue, with some cases progressing to bleeding beneath the skin or from body openings. He urged anyone with symptoms, especially butchers, livestock breeders and animal traders, to seek medical care at once, noting that treatment has proven effective when the disease is caught early.

The ministry urged the public to buy meat only from licensed slaughterhouses, avoid informal slaughtering in residential areas, wear protective clothing and gloves when handling livestock or meat, control the ticks that spread the disease, and store and cook meat properly.

Hemorrhagic fever is a recurring seasonal threat in Iraq, peaking in the warmer months as livestock contact rises. By late September 2025, the cumulative toll for that year had reached 296 cases and 42 deaths.