Evaluation of nosocomial Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever patients reported from Turkey

Abstract

Aim: Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is an important disease that can lead to hemorrhages and deaths and has been seen in our country since the year 2002. The disease generally spreads to farmers and/or people occupied in animal husbandry after tick bite in the endemic regions. But nosocomial contagion can be seen especially in health care workers (HCWs). In this study the nosocomial contagions from CCHF patients were evaluated.Material and Method: The studies were screened by using national (http://uvt.ulakbim.gov.tr, http://www.turkmedline.net) and international (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, google scholar) data bases. The detected cases were evaluated for contagion route, presence of prophylactic therapy and disease course by using pool analysis method.Results: Six studies were included in this study. In these studies, totally 49 nosocomial contagion were reported in 5 different centers and in 12 different periods. The majority of these were HCWs, two of them were relatives of the patients and one of them was another patient sharing a CCHF patient’s room. The majority of the contagion routes were exposure to the secretions of the CCHF patients and sharps injury. Among these 49 patients, 23 were given Ribavirin prophylaxis and none of them developed clinical CCHF disease but seroconversion developed in only one patient.Conclusion: CCHF is still an important disease in our country. To comply with the universal precautions is essential during medical interventions especially in endemic regions. Also, it was thought that evaluating the patient after exposure and Ribavirin prophylaxis can be beneficial.