By News Desk @bactiman63
Iranian health authorities have reported twelve Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) since Mar. 21, according to a Tehran Times report. Of this total, two people have died.
According to Mohammad Mahdi Guya, the Director of Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health, the disease was reported in the cities of Iranshahr, Zabol, Kermanshah and Bandar Abbas as well as Gilan province.
According to health ministry, annually, some 100 to 150 cases of Crimean-Congo fever are reported in Iran.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family. The CCHF virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a case fatality rate of 10–40%.
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Animals become infected by the bite of infected ticks and the virus remains in their bloodstream for about one week after infection, allowing the tick-animal-tick cycle to continue when another tick bites. Although a number of tick genera are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the principal vector.
The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians. Human-to-human transmission is possible.
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