Antibody responses and viral load in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: a comprehensive analysis during the early stages of the infection

Abstract

This study was performed to assess viral load, viral nucleocapsid (N), and glycoprotein precursor (GPC) antibodies in consecutive samples obtained from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever patients to reveal viral replication kinetics and antiviral immune responses during the early stages of the infection. Among 116 samples from 20 individuals, 43.9% and 76.7% were positive for viral RNA and IgM/IgG antibodies, respectively, whereas both markers could be detected in 22.4%. Mean duration of viremia was 3 days (range: 1–6 days). N-IgM antibodies were identified as the initial serological marker during the infection, becoming detectable in a median of 2–3 days after disease onset, followed by GPC-IgM (4–6 days) and IgG antibodies (5–6 days). Clearance of viremia followed or coincided N-IgM response. Partial S gene sequences amplified in viremic patients were identical or closely related to previously characterized strains and grouped within European lineage I group II viruses via neighbor-joining analysis without significant amino acid substitutions.