Seasonal distribution of CCHF vectors in Khouzistan province, Iran during 2013-2014

Abstract

Background: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a severe tick-born illness caused by the CCHFV. Ruminant animals are the main host to ticks, and ticks are a vector of CCHF. Therefore, this survey was carried out in 2013 on ticks of Khouzistan province, in the Southwest of Iran, to specify tick species parasitizing live stocks and their seasonal population dynamics. Materials and Methods: During a survey for possible tick population of Khouzistan province as one of the critical epidemiologic areas in Iran, ticks were collected from the body of infested animals by a tweezer and then transported to the laboratory of Medical Entomology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and finally were identified to genus and species level using identification key. Results: A total number of 372 hard ticks were collected randomly from 458 live stocks in 7 different cities. Shosh was the most infected city in this study. Ticks infection rate on sheep, goat and cow was 84.12%, 12.69 % and 3.17%, respectively. In the study 2 genus and six species of hard ticks were identified including Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Hyalomma anatolicum, Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma sp., Hyalomma marginatum and Rhipicephalus turanicus. Rhipicephalus sanguineus was the most frequent species in the study area. Conclusion: Outbreak of human cases of CCHF in parallel with ticks’ distribution shows the importance of this survey. Despite of studies that have been done on ticks distribution and ticks infestation in Iran recently no study has been conducted yet about this field in this province. K e y w o r ds: CCHFV, Ixodidae, Tick, Rhipicephalus, Khouzistan