Shafaq News/ 18 infections and four deaths are recorded so far in Iraq due to hemorrhagic fever, the spokesperson for the ministry of health Seif Al-Badr said in a statement to the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Al-Badr called for the necessity to follow the preventive measures to avoid contracting this disease.

Dhi Qar Governorate registered the highest number of infections. A source told Shafaq News Agency that 17 cases tested positive for hemorrhagic fever so far.

Specialists say that since the middle of last year, Dhi Qar has registered 30 cases, 10 of who died and that the relevant authorities in the governorate have launched a campaign to control red meat markets.

Other Iraqi governorates accelerated measures to prevent the disease.

Kurdistan Region is still "clean" of the virus; the Erbil Governorate took the necessary measures to limit its spread.

According to the World Health Organization, the death rate from hemorrhagic fever reaches 40 percent of infected people.

The virus is transmitted to humans through poultry or livestock. In contrast, it is transmitted from one person to another through direct contact with the infected person's blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids.

It is worth noting that Iraq officially registered its first death from this disease in 2018.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of diseases that several distinct families of viruses cause. The term "viral hemorrhagic fever" refers to a condition that affects many organ systems of the body, damages the overall cardiovascular system, and reduces the body's ability to function on its own.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are spread by contact with infected animals or insects. The viruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fevers live in various animal and insect hosts. The hosts commonly include mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, or bats.