Published Date: 2018-06-27 23:01:36
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed hemorrhagic fever - Iraq: (QA) RFI
Archive Number: 20180627.5880040
UNDIAGNOSED HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - IRAQ: (AL-QADISIYAH) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
************************************************** **************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 26 Jun 2018
Source: Rudaw [edited]
After 3 reported deaths caused by viral hemorrhagic fever in Iraq's Euphrates Valley, a rights group has called on the government to undertake measures to prevent the disease from spreading, while officials say: "The situation doesn't call for worry."
"The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights warns of spreading the viral hemorrhagic fever, which causes human deaths and has great dangers to public health and the economy of Iraq," read a statement from IHCHR on Tuesday [26 Jun 2018].
The virus is spread by mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, and bats into livestock and humans, or when humans butcher already-infected livestock.
"We call on the Ministry of Health and Diwaniyah Health Department to fumigate animal sheds in the province and carry out rapid preventive measures to prevent the spreading of the disease to Iraq's provinces," added the rights group.
They call for butchers only to work at licensed locations and for the police and relevant administrations to issue instructions. Additionally, posters should be displayed, and seminars should be offered as part of an educational campaign.
"After 2 people lost their lives due to the hemorrhagic fever in the Diwanyah province, our ministry has swiftly undertaken the necessary measures to prevent the disease and provide necessary medications," Sayf Badir, a spokesperson for the ministry, said in a statement.
A source from the Diwanyah Hospital told Baghdad Today of another death on Monday [25 Jun 2018], increasing the number to 3.
The Provincial Council of Diwanyah held a meeting in the presence of the governor and the head of the province's police to discuss the issue.
Dr. Sabah Mahdi, the director of the National Center for Containing and Preventing Diseases, said on Monday [25 Jun 2018] that the 1st recorded case of the disease in Iraq was in 1979.
He revealed that there are continuous efforts by the veterinaries to spray pesticides on cattle fields.
"To prevent this disease, we advise all ranchers, laboratory employees, and veterinary employees to wear personal protection gear while dealing with animals," added Mahdi. "The preventive measures are continuous, and by following up on all the cases, the situation doesn't call for worry."
The World Health Organization defines viral hemorrhagic fever as "a general term for a severe illness, sometimes associated with bleeding, that may be caused by a number of viruses."
Symptoms are sudden and include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, and sore eyes, among other symptoms. The mortality rate is 30 percent. There is no vaccine available for humans or animals.
There have been no reported cases outside of Diwanyah.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
[If the virus is believed to be spread by mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, and bats into livestock and humans, the identity of the virus has not been determined. However, if it is transmitted to humans when they butcher livestock, that raises the possibility that the etiological agent is Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus.
Cases in Iraq would not be surprising because cases have occurred this year (2018) across the region, including Iran and Afghanistan, and was suspected in 2 fatal and 4 suspected cases in Iraq in 2010.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne Nairovirus in the family Bunyaviridae. It is a viral zoonosis (animal to human) caused by infection with a tick-borne virus. The hosts of the CCHF virus are mostly wild and domestic animals, including cattle, sheep and goats. Human transmission may occur when human beings come into contact with infected ticks (through tick bites) or direct contact with blood or tissues of an infected animal. CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids. In humans, until the etiological agent is identified, effective prevention will be difficult.
ProMED-mail would appreciate receiving the name of the virus involved and the laboratory tests used to identify it. - Mod.TY
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed hemorrhagic fever - Iraq: (QA) RFI
Archive Number: 20180627.5880040
UNDIAGNOSED HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - IRAQ: (AL-QADISIYAH) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
************************************************** **************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 26 Jun 2018
Source: Rudaw [edited]
After 3 reported deaths caused by viral hemorrhagic fever in Iraq's Euphrates Valley, a rights group has called on the government to undertake measures to prevent the disease from spreading, while officials say: "The situation doesn't call for worry."
"The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights warns of spreading the viral hemorrhagic fever, which causes human deaths and has great dangers to public health and the economy of Iraq," read a statement from IHCHR on Tuesday [26 Jun 2018].
The virus is spread by mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, and bats into livestock and humans, or when humans butcher already-infected livestock.
"We call on the Ministry of Health and Diwaniyah Health Department to fumigate animal sheds in the province and carry out rapid preventive measures to prevent the spreading of the disease to Iraq's provinces," added the rights group.
They call for butchers only to work at licensed locations and for the police and relevant administrations to issue instructions. Additionally, posters should be displayed, and seminars should be offered as part of an educational campaign.
"After 2 people lost their lives due to the hemorrhagic fever in the Diwanyah province, our ministry has swiftly undertaken the necessary measures to prevent the disease and provide necessary medications," Sayf Badir, a spokesperson for the ministry, said in a statement.
A source from the Diwanyah Hospital told Baghdad Today of another death on Monday [25 Jun 2018], increasing the number to 3.
The Provincial Council of Diwanyah held a meeting in the presence of the governor and the head of the province's police to discuss the issue.
Dr. Sabah Mahdi, the director of the National Center for Containing and Preventing Diseases, said on Monday [25 Jun 2018] that the 1st recorded case of the disease in Iraq was in 1979.
He revealed that there are continuous efforts by the veterinaries to spray pesticides on cattle fields.
"To prevent this disease, we advise all ranchers, laboratory employees, and veterinary employees to wear personal protection gear while dealing with animals," added Mahdi. "The preventive measures are continuous, and by following up on all the cases, the situation doesn't call for worry."
The World Health Organization defines viral hemorrhagic fever as "a general term for a severe illness, sometimes associated with bleeding, that may be caused by a number of viruses."
Symptoms are sudden and include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain, backache, headache, and sore eyes, among other symptoms. The mortality rate is 30 percent. There is no vaccine available for humans or animals.
There have been no reported cases outside of Diwanyah.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
[If the virus is believed to be spread by mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, and bats into livestock and humans, the identity of the virus has not been determined. However, if it is transmitted to humans when they butcher livestock, that raises the possibility that the etiological agent is Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus.
Cases in Iraq would not be surprising because cases have occurred this year (2018) across the region, including Iran and Afghanistan, and was suspected in 2 fatal and 4 suspected cases in Iraq in 2010.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne Nairovirus in the family Bunyaviridae. It is a viral zoonosis (animal to human) caused by infection with a tick-borne virus. The hosts of the CCHF virus are mostly wild and domestic animals, including cattle, sheep and goats. Human transmission may occur when human beings come into contact with infected ticks (through tick bites) or direct contact with blood or tissues of an infected animal. CCHF can be transmitted from one infected human to another by contact with infectious blood or body fluids. In humans, until the etiological agent is identified, effective prevention will be difficult.
ProMED-mail would appreciate receiving the name of the virus involved and the laboratory tests used to identify it. - Mod.TY
Comment