Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraq intensified slaughterhouse inspections ahead of the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha after Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) cases spread to additional provinces, including Kirkuk, where authorities recorded the first confirmed infection of 2026 this week.

Mansour Ahmad Mohammad Al-Bayati, director of Kirkuk’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, told Shafaq News on Thursday that veterinary teams carried out extensive inspections inside Kirkuk’s central slaughterhouse as animal slaughter operations increased ahead of the holiday. The inspections included health checks on cattle and sheep, monitoring livestock conditions, and verifying the safety of meat officially stamped and approved before entering local markets.

He also urged livestock breeders and butchers to follow veterinary guidance and use protective equipment while handling animals and conducting slaughter operations to reduce the spread of CCHF during the Eid period.

The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry earlier this week ordered a series of preventive and precautionary measures to contain the disease amid continued infections reported in several provinces. Dhi Qar recorded Iraq’s highest number of infections this year with 45 confirmed cases and seven deaths since the start of 2026, while two additional infections were recently reported in Nineveh province south of Mosul.

In total, Shafaq News tracker has recorded 53 CCHF cases and nine deaths nationwide so far in 2026, following 247 cases and 38 deaths across all of 2025.

CCHF is a viral disease transmitted through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood, particularly during slaughter and meat handling without protective equipment. Livestock breeders, butchers, and slaughterhouse workers are among the groups most at risk of infection.

Read more: Blood, ticks, and broken systems: The resurgence of CCHF in Iraq