NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Health officials in Iraq are reporting the death of a person working as a butcher in Mosul city due to infection with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), according to a Shafaq News report (computer translated).

Image/ErikaWittlieb via pixabay

The Director of the Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Uday Al-Abadi said that quarantine was imposed on a number of people that had been in contact with the deceased in a hospital.

He added that “we have fogged the meat market in Ras Al-Jada, on the right side of Mosul, because the butcher works there, and we hope that no new cases will be recorded.”

The mayor of Mosul, Zuhair Al-Araji, said that this case is the first of its kind recorded in Mosul.

He pointed out that this is an issue of great concern and we will impose strict penalties on any butcher who slaughters livestock outside the authorized slaughterhouse. He explained that the penalties would reach prison and the imposition of financial fines to prevent the spread of CCHF in the city of Mosul.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family. The CCHF virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a case fatality rate of 10–40%.

Animals become infected by the bite of infected ticks and the virus remains in their bloodstream for about one week after infection, allowing the tick-animal-tick cycle to continue when another tick bites. Although a number of tick genera are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the principal vector.

The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians. Human-to-human transmission is possible.