In May, health officials reported two imported cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Senegal imported from Mauritania. A third imported case was reported in June.
On Aug 24, the Mauritania Ministry of Health notified WHO of a confirmed case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in a 47-year-old shepherd, from Arafat Village in Mohammedia, Boutilimit Prefecture, located about 150 km south-east of the capital, Nouakchott.
He developed headache, muscle and joints pains and diarrhea on Aug 20 and sought medical attention. he was treated with anti-malarial medicines and analgesics.
The subsequent two days he returned for medical care as his condition worsened. He was tested for CCHF because of bleeding manifestations and was IgM positive for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patient is still hospitalized and in stable clinical condition.
Mauritania experienced a fairly large CCHF outbreak in 2003, involving 38 cases with a case fatality rate of 28.6%.
According to the WHO, 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%.
CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asian countries south of the 50th parallel north – the geographical limit of the principal tick vector. The hosts of the CCHF virus include a wide range of wild and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep and goats.
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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