More technically called Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, the tick-borne virus has been detected in some 120 people in Iraq since January — including 18 who have died from the disease — health officials have warned, fearing an escalating spread. The onset of illness causes rapid and severe internal and external bleeding in infected patients, including through the nose, hence its nickname “nose-bleed fever.” Though the virus is hosted in ticks, most individuals pick it up by coming in contact with infected animal blood — usually occurring among those who work with livestock and in slaughterhouses. The virus is not novel, but...