No, there aren’t any Ebola cases in Iraq
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Version 0 of 1. Iraq has many problems. Ebola isn’t one of them. The World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health in Iraq made that clear in a statement late Monday, saying there are no suspected infections from the deadly virus in the country. That came after rumors spread online and through several media outlets on Dec. 31. Most of them cited anonymous medical sources in the city of Mosul, which has been under the control of Islamic State militants since June. The virus spreading through Iraq would have raised concerns for both the local population and American troops who recently began training the Iraqi military. According to the discredited reports, the virus was said to have been brought to Iraq by militants and other migrants coming to the country from Africa. Health officials said that simply isn’t true. The Ministry of Health and World Health Organization investigated the reports through surveillance networks and contacts with medical sources in Mosul, and found that there were no cases of the virus. “The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization further confirmed that the laboratory facilities in Mosul do not have the necessary capabilities to diagnose and confirm the Ebola Virus,” according to the joint statement–a question that was raised by skeptics when the rumors spread last week. Here’s a sampling of tweets on the rumors before the announcement: Iraqi News: “Two case of Ebola reported in Mosul”. If true, this is disastrous! #Iraq #ISIS pic.twitter.com/ei2XVqh95v — Seloom (@M_Seloom) December 31, 2014 Iraqi News: “Two case of Ebola reported in Mosul”. If true, this is disastrous! #Iraq #ISIS pic.twitter.com/ei2XVqh95v — Seloom (@M_Seloom) December 31, 2014 #Iraq: Two Ebola cases confirmed in #ISIS controlled Mosul http://t.co/gqUkYTMy0t cc: @alimhaider — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) December 31, 2014 #Iraq: Two Ebola cases confirmed in #ISIS controlled Mosul http://t.co/gqUkYTMy0t cc: @alimhaider — Patrick Poole (@pspoole) December 31, 2014 Whoa if true RT @arabthomness: #Iraq BREAKING: according to Iraqi media there have been 2 confirmed cases of #Ebola in #IS controlled #Mosul — Kelsey D. Atherton (@AthertonKD) December 31, 2014 Whoa if true RT @arabthomness: #Iraq BREAKING: according to Iraqi media there have been 2 confirmed cases of #Ebola in #IS controlled #Mosul — Kelsey D. Atherton (@AthertonKD) December 31, 2014 #ISIS cracks down on five confirmed cases of #Ebola among fighters: official http://t.co/c4rlvzoGwg — Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 4, 2015 #ISIS cracks down on five confirmed cases of #Ebola among fighters: official http://t.co/c4rlvzoGwg — Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 4, 2015 |