BAGHDAD, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health said on Friday that about 40 cases of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) were registered in the country, eight of whom have died.

       Twenty-three infections and five deaths were registered in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar, the ministry's spokesman Sayf al-Badr said in a statement.

       Al-Badr said the latest death was confirmed earlier Friday in the northern province of Kirkuk.

       The first VHF case was detected in Dhi Qar last month and later appeared in several provinces, he added.

       VHFs are a group of diseases caused by several different viruses, which affects multiple organ systems in the body and may be accompanied by fever and bleeding.