ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region’s first fatality due to hemorrhagic fever was recorded in Duhok province on Saturday, coming as the infectious disease continues to spread across the country.

The deceased is reportedly a 45-year-old woman from Duhok’s Amedi district.

“The woman visited the Azadi Teaching Hospital on Wednesday and was admitted for treatment. The results of her medical tests were sent to Baghdad, and she was diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever,” Sagvan Hasan, the head of the transmissible diseases unit at Duhok’s health directorate, told The New Region on Saturday.

“She passed away this morning.”

In early May, the Kurdistan Region reported its first case of hemorrhagic fever after a 42-year-old butcher was diagnosed in Erbil’s eastern town of Koya.

Hemorrhagic fever is an infectious viral disease often transmitted from animals to humans, with symptoms that can range from mild to severe and potentially life-threatening. Those working closely with animals face an elevated risk of infection.

Certain variants of the viral infection can also be transmitted through mosquito or tick bites, while others spread from person to person through infected bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, and semen.

The Kurdistan Region’s health ministry has advised the public to follow its guidelines and to notify veterinary teams if there are signs of disease in animals.

Iraqi authorities have reported at least 62 cases of the disease since the outbreak earlier this year, including eight deaths.