ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least six people have died from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Iraq’s Dhi Qar province since the beginning of this year, Iraqi authorities told Rudaw on Monday, making the southern governorate the hardest hit nationwide. Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed that no cases of the virus have been recorded in the Region over the past five months.
Ahmad Salim, spokesperson for the Dhi Qar provincial council, said that “in addition to six fatalities, 41 cases have been recorded across the province since the start of 2026,” adding that authorities have been forced to “ban the import and export of livestock.”
He further identified a slaughterhouse in the provincial capital Nasiriyah as the “epicenter of the outbreak” in Dhi Qar, noting that they “closed it down and adopted a series of safety measures to prevent the further spread of the lethal virus during Eid al-Adha,” a four-day Muslim celebration that involves the ritual processing of animals to seek God’s blessings.
“With Eid al-Adha approaching and animal slaughter increasing, a special operations room has been formed in the province, including representatives from the veterinary, health, and environment departments, as well as security agencies, to strictly monitor the markets,” Salim added.
Iraq’s health ministry in mid-May reported that the national tally of CCHF cases stood at 48, including four deaths.
However, the Kurdistan Region has recorded no infections of the virus since the start of 2026.
“We have advanced plans every year to combat this virus, ranging from spraying livestock pens to washing animals at the end of spring and the beginning of autumn,” Fareydun Hamad, animal health director at Erbil’s agriculture ministry, told Rudaw on Monday.
He added that they have already started precautionary measures, especially in areas with high temperatures, noting that “the virus emerges with the heat.”
The first CCHF case in 2026 was recorded in Iraq on May 7 in Kirkuk province.
The previous year, Iraq’s health ministry said that 37 people died and 247 were infected with the virus in 2025.
CCHF is a zoonotic viral disease transmitted between animals and humans, primarily through infected ticks. Domestic and wild animals can carry the virus and pass it to humans. Iraq has experienced repeated outbreaks of the disease since it was first recorded in the country in 1979.
The highly infectious virus can spread through multiple routes, including bites from infected ticks, contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals, exposure to bodily fluids of infected people, and the consumption of raw or undercooked meat from infected livestock.
While some patients experience mild symptoms, CCHF is often fatal. Severe cases can lead to internal bleeding, coma, and multi-organ failure affecting the liver, kidneys, and respiratory system. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the disease’s fatality rate can reach up to 40 percent.
Gashaw Khalid contributed to this report.