The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Elimination of Viral Hepatitis in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

摘要

In November 2019, several cases of acute respiratorydistress syndrome emerged in Wuhan, Hubei, China (1). Anovel SARS-CoV-2 virus was then identified as a causativeagent for coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19). On the11th, March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO)declared COVID-19 a global pandemic as the infection hadspread to more than 150 countries (2). The impact of thepandemic on the health system was profound and led toreduced access to healthcare and a dramatic reduction inhealth services. Previous outbreaks such as Ebola showedthat a temporarily severely compromised health systemmay lead to long-term deleterious consequences (3).