NAJAF, Iraq — The doctor paused before banging on the front gate, gesturing to companions who were wearing full hazmat suits, masks, goggles and gloves to stand back so they would not be the first thing the home’s occupants saw.

“This is very sensitive, very difficult for our society,” said Dr. Wissam Cona, who works with the provincial Health Department in the city of Najaf in southern Iraq. He now spends his days checking on families recently returned from Iran, which has suffered one of the world’s most severe outbreaks of the coronavirus.

He said that the father of the family at this home had begged him not to come with a retinue of health workers, saying, “‘Please don’t park in front of our house. I feel ashamed in front of the neighbors. This is so difficult for my reputation.’”

For Iraq, one of the biggest obstacles for public health officials fighting the coronavirus is the stigma associated with illness and quarantine. It runs so deep that people avoid being tested, prevent family members who want tests from having them and delay seeking medical help until they are catastrophically ill.