Duhok launches 45-day drive against deadly CCHF

Shafaq News – Duhok

Kurdistan Region's Duhok province launched a large-scale pesticide spraying campaign to combat Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), the Veterinary Department announced on Monday.

The Head of the Department, Sanaa Salim, told Shafaq News that 18 veterinary teams will take part in the campaign, which will be implemented in three phases: spraying livestock barns and enclosures with pesticides, treating animals with veterinary medicines, and carrying out a wide-scale vaccination program.

The campaign follows the recent registration of human infections with the disease, the latest being the death of a Syrian refugee at Domiz camp south of Duhok, Salim noted.

According to Shafaq News tracker, Duhok registered seven cases, including one death.

CCHF is classified as a zoonotic viral hemorrhagic fever, spreading through tick bites or contact with the blood of infected animals, particularly during slaughter or direct handling of raw meat without protective measures. Symptoms typically appear about a week after infection.