ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has recorded 270 cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and 17 deaths since the start of 2026, the health ministry said on Monday, with the highest number of cases recorded in the country’s southern Dhi Qar province.
CCHF is a viral disease transmitted through infected ticks, contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals, exposure to bodily fluids of infected people, and handling or consuming infected livestock.
Dhi Qar has registered 109 infections and eight deaths since the beginning of the year. Ahmed Salim, Dhi Qar provincial spokesperson, told Rudaw's Gashaw Khalid, "We are not only recording the highest number of cases in Iraq but globally," claiming the province has surpassed the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease was first identified.
The cases come amid unsafe slaughtering practices and low public awareness.
Iraqi ministry of health spokesperson Saif al-Badr announced 26 new infections over the past week with no new deaths, citing the figures in the ministry's epidemiological July report.
He said the 109 confirmed patients are currently under medical care, with several receiving treatment in intensive care units. He added that other infected people were treated and instructed to self-isolate at home, and were thus not included among hospitalized cases.
In the Kurdistan Region, four infections have been recorded so far this year, including two in Erbil and two in Sulaimani. Benz Sadraddin, head of communicable diseases at Erbil's health prevention directorate, told Rudaw that there are currently no active cases in the province.
Erbil had recorded three infections this year, he said, with one patient from Salahaddin province having transferred back for treatment. The other two patients, a father and son infected while slaughtering livestock during Eid al-Adha, have fully recovered.
According to the ministry, Basra records the second highest number of cases at 24 and one death, Maysan and Muthana provinces recording 21 and 19 cases and one fatality, respectively.
Nineveh recorded 16 cases, Diyala recorded 15 cases and one death, Baghdad's Rusafa district 14 cases and one death, Wasit and Babylon 13 cases each with two deaths each. Salahaddin province recorded five cases, Baghdad's Karkh district five cases and one death, Kirkuk four cases, Diwaniyah three cases, Karbala and Najaf two cases each, and Anbar one case.
The ministry said it continues to monitor the outbreak daily and stressed that early diagnosis remains key to successful treatment.
Badr also called for preventing random animal grazing and slaughter, while urging relevant authorities to strengthen vector control measures and conduct public awareness campaigns.
The latest figures mark an increase from the end of June, with 219 recorded infections and 16 deaths nationwide.
While outbreaks have historically been concentrated in central and southern Iraq, infections in the Kurdistan Region have remained comparatively limited, with authorities continuing awareness campaigns and preventive measures for livestock handlers and slaughterhouse workers.
