Latest news with #Saifal-Badr
Shafaq News
2 days ago
- Health
- Shafaq News
CCHF on the rise: Iraq confirms 109 infections ahead of Eid al-Adha
Shafaq News/ Iraq has confirmed 109 cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) so far this year, the Health Ministry reported on Saturday. The ministry urged citizens to adhere to safety measures during Eid al-Adha, citing heightened risk from unregulated livestock slaughter and direct animal contact. 'Most cases are linked to unauthorized butchering and informal animal handling,' ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr stated. Deputy Health Minister Hani al-Okaili called on the public to avoid street-side butchering. 'We advise citizens to purchase meat from licensed slaughterhouses and use gloves and designated tools when handling raw meat,' he told Shafaq News. Dhi Qar remains the hardest-hit province with 31 cases and one death, followed by eastern Baghdad (11 cases, five deaths), Wasit (12 cases, one death), Muthanna (eight cases, two deaths), and Maysan (eight cases, no deaths), with more cases in 13 other provinces.
The Star
4 days ago
- Health
- The Star
16 die of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iraq
BAGHDAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry said Thursday that 16 people have died of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) across the country since the beginning of this year. A total of 107 cases of CCHF have been recorded this year, and 16 of them died, the ministry's spokesman, Saif al-Badr, said in a statement. The spokesman noted that the southern province of Dhi Qar recorded the highest number of infections, with 31 cases and one death, followed by Baghdad with 16 cases and five deaths. Al-Badr recommended that citizens purchase meat from health-approved slaughterhouses, store meat at very low freezing temperatures, and ensure that it is cooked at high temperatures to eliminate pathogens as the festival of Eid al-Adha approaches. Since the late 1970s, CCHF has been the most common viral hemorrhagic fever in Iraq. It is transmitted to humans mainly through tick bites or contact with blood and tissues of infected animals, especially livestock. CCHF, characterized by fever, muscle aches, headache, and bleeding, has a high fatality rate ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent. Iraq has experienced recurring outbreaks of CCHF since then. The largest outbreak occurred in 2023 with over 587 confirmed cases and 83 deaths, predominantly affecting southern provinces.
Shafaq News
19-04-2025
- Health
- Shafaq News
CCHF 2025: Iraq records 14 cases with 2 deaths
Shafaq News/ Fourteen cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and two related deaths have been recorded since the start of 2025, Iraq's Ministry of Health announced on Saturday. Ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr, in an audio briefing to the media, said infections have been confirmed in six provinces: Dhi Qar (6), Kirkuk (4), and one each in Nineveh, Muthanna, Basra, and Baghdad's Al-Rusafa district. He noted that the latest death occurred earlier today in Kirkuk, involving a Health Ministry employee—the second such case in the province, corroborating Shafaq News' earlier reporting. The announcement comes amid warnings from medical authorities about increased transmission risks as temperatures rise. CCHF, transmitted by tick bites or contact with infected animal blood, is highly contagious and can be fatal in more than 40% of cases, particularly if not treated promptly.
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Sandstorm Turns Iraq's Skies Orange and Sends Thousands to Hospitals
A severe sandstorm has swept across central and southern Iraq over the last two days, turning the sky a strange orange, reducing visibility in some places to less than a half mile and sending several thousand people to emergency rooms with respiratory problems. Two airports suspended flights because of poor visibility, and the usually crowded highways of Basra, the largest city in the country's south, were nearly empty as high winds whipped through the palm trees and aboveground electrical lines. The spokesman for Iraq's meteorology department, Amir al-Jabri, said that the 'heavy waves of dust' had blown across the country after originating in eastern Saudi Arabia, a largely desert area, and picking up additional particles in southwestern Iraq, which is similarly arid. Although sandstorms have long been a feature of Iraq's winter and early spring, climate experts say the storms are becoming more frequent and severe as the country and neighboring Syria experience longer and more frequent droughts and as desertification engulfs larger and larger areas of once-fertile land. The storm was the worst so far in Iraq in 2025, but a similarly serious storm paralyzed Baghdad in December, and there were several severe sandstorms in 2022. The United Nations counts Iraq as the fifth most vulnerable country to some aspects of climate change, including extreme temperatures and the diminishing availability of water. Although the storm abated on Tuesday and temperatures were a bit lower, southern Iraq was experiencing daily highs of more than 100 degrees before the sandstorm obscured the sun, reducing the temperature. During the most recent storm, many people donned face masks for protection, especially police officers and emergency workers who were working outside, while others wrapped cloths around their mouths. The sand and dust were so pervasive that they penetrated almost every house and vehicle, coming through the smallest cracks to coat every surface, making it difficult to work on computers and forcing almost all but emergency workers to stay indoors. Iraq's health ministry spokesman, Saif al-Badr, said that emergency rooms across the south had received 3,747 cases of Iraqis suffering respiratory problems as a result of the storm. More than 1,000 of those were recorded in Basra, where the storm was especially severe on Monday, and 451 were in Najaf, a far smaller city, he said. Also badly affected were residents of Muthanna Province, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that most of the thousands who were treated for respiratory problems had been released. The Basra police department put out a list of storm instructions, including one directed at families: 'Since the storm is accompanied by frightening sounds for young children, parents should explain what is happening so that their child can sleep soundly.'
Iraqi News
22-03-2025
- Health
- Iraqi News
MOH: Dhi Qar Medical City Project to be Completed within (3) Years
Baghdad - INA The Ministry of Health confirmed today, Saturday, that the Medical City Project in Dhi Qar Governorate will be completed within three years. Ministry of Health spokesman Saif al-Badr told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The Medical City Project in Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar Governorate, whose contract signing ceremony was sponsored by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and attended by Health Minister Saleh al-Hasnawi, is one of the major strategic projects in Iraq." He noted that "the project will be implemented in two phases and completed within three years." Al-Badr added that 'the medical city project includes (13) independent medical facilities, including 7 hospitals with a total capacity of (700) beds, namely the main hospital with 200 beds, a specialized children's hospital with 100 beds, a specialized women's hospital with 100 beds, a center for blood diseases and oncology treatment with 100 beds, a specialized internal medicine and digestive system hospital with 100 beds, an emergency hospital with 50 beds, a complex of consulting clinics, specialized centers, buildings for forensic medicine, research and studies, a blood bank, and a doctors' house,' indicating that 'the project will be built on an area of (132) dunums, and the first phase of the project will be built on an area of 93 dunums, while the second phase will be built on an area of 39 dunums.'
