2310. No Recurrence in Recovered People with CCHF: A Cross-Sectional Study From Turkey, Preliminary Report

Abstract

BackgroundCrimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widespread, tick-borne disease of humans. CCHF is an endemic in Turkey, and since 2004 many cases have been reported from different regions in the country. CCHF infection in humans can lead to antibody responses that can be protective but there is limited data about the immunity of CCHF. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of recurrence of CCHF in people who previously had this disease.MethodsThe patients who were diagnosed with CCHF between 2005 and 2018 were followed up and contacted via phone in order to answer several survey questions about CCHF. Patients who still live in the same places, who have high risks of disease transmission because of husbandry or farming and high potential of contact with ticks were included in this study. Those who changed their living place and stopped husbandry or farming were excluded from this study. The questions in the survey are the following: Have you had CCHF after your discharge from the hospital?; Has there been any tick contact?; Did you ever get a tick removed from your body? Did you or your family members have CCHF at the same time or at different periods of time? Has anyone had CCHF in the area you live? Do your animals have ticks? Do you live in the same place? Have you changed your job?ResultsNinety-nine out of 351 patients who were contacted via phone had data eligible to be included in the criteria. The amount of time elapsed after the discharge of the patients was between 1 and 14 years in average. None of the patients had experienced CCHF disease again. Also, 6 of these patients were bitten by ticks repeatedly (2–5 times). An average of 7–10 years had passed since the transmission of the disease by the patients.ConclusionThe results show that the CCHF disease creates an immune response and this response continues for a long time. The findings will be more enlightening with the measurement of the serum antibody levels of patients.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.