Emerging Infectious Diseases (Aug 2004)

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Turkey

  • S. Sami Karti,
  • Zekaver Odabasi,
  • Volkan Korten,
  • Mustafa Yilmaz,
  • Mehmet Sonmez,
  • Rahmet Caylan,
  • Elif Akdogan,
  • Necmi Eren,
  • Iftihar Koksal,
  • Ercument Ovali,
  • Bobbie R. Erickson,
  • Martin J. Vincent,
  • Stuart T. Nichol,
  • James A. Comer,
  • Pierre E. Rollin,
  • Thomas G. Ksiazek

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1008.030928
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 8
pp. 1379 – 1384

Abstract

Read online

In 2002 and 2003, a total of 19 persons in Turkey had suspected cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) or a similar viral infection. Six serum samples were tested; all six were found positive for immunoglobulin M antibodies against CCHF virus. Two of the samples yielded CCHF virus isolates. Genetic analysis of the virus isolates showed them to be closely related to isolates from former Yugoslavia and southwestern Russia. These cases are the first of CCHF reported from Turkey. Eighteen patients handled livestock, and one was a nurse with probable nosocomial infection. The case-fatality rate was 20% among confirmed CCHF cases (1/5 patients), and the overall case fatality rate was 11% (2/19 patients). In addition to previously reported symptoms and signs, we report hemophagocytosis in 50% of our patients, which is the first report of this clinical phenomenon associated with CCHF.

Keywords