Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever infection in Iran

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease existed from many years in the northwest of Iran, in Ardebil, East and West Azerbaijan provinces with the local name Kara-Mikh typhoid Fever. Kara-Mikh is a Turkish word which means black nail and it refers to the black spots appearing on the skin of the patients. In 1974, Dr. Asefi studied clinically 60 patients with CCHF syndromes in Ardebil, Sarab, and Khalkhal counties of the Ardebil province [1]. In the years 1974-1975, Dr. Ardoin from the Pasteur Institute of Paris, with the collaboration of Dr. Younis Karimi from the Pasteur Institute of Iran, has studied clinically the disease in East Azerbaijan province [2]. In 1975, Dr. Saidi et al. have demonstrated the presence of antibodies against CCHF in the blood of human, domestic animals, and small mammals suspected for the disease in different regions of Iran mainly the region bordering the Caspian Sea and East Azerbaijan [23]. In 1978, professor Sureau from the Pasteur Institute of Paris with collaboration of the Pasteur Institute of Iran succeeded to isolate the virus of the disease from infected ticks in Khorassan province in northeast of Iran [25]. After that time, because there were no facilities, no research has been done on this disease in Iran and patients with hemorrhagic diseases have been misdiagnosed as they were previously when CCHF was considered to be Kara-Mikh typhoid Fever and unfortunately some of them died without diagnosis and efficient treatment. In summer 1999, suspected cases for this disease have been reported in Iran and with the sending of the sera of suspected patients from August 1999 to June 2000 to the National Center of Virology in South Africa, 7 Out of 34 persons have been diagnosed positive (Table 8-1).