Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: Prevention and Control Limitations in a Resource-Poor Country

In autumn 2000, an outbreak of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) occurred in Pakistan and involved nosocomial cases due to human-to-human transmission at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. During a hospital-based investigation, 6 serologically confirmed cases (i.e., patients seropositive for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2004-06, Vol.38 (12), p.1731-1735
Main Authors: Smego, Raymond A., Sarwari, Arif R., Siddiqui, Amna Rehana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Arboviral haemorrhagic fevers
Arboviroses
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Contact Tracing
Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
Cross Infection - epidemiology
Cross Infection - prevention & control
Developing Countries
Disease outbreaks
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Disease transmission
Ebola virus
Epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo - isolation & purification
Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - prevention & control
Hospital administration
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Major Articles
Medical personnel
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pakistan - epidemiology
Tropical viral diseases
Viral diseases
Viruses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In autumn 2000, an outbreak of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) occurred in Pakistan and involved nosocomial cases due to human-to-human transmission at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. During a hospital-based investigation, 6 serologically confirmed cases (i.e., patients seropositive for CCHF antigen or anti-CCHF immunoglobulin M antibodies by means of a capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) and 3 clinically confirmed cases (i.e., patients with negative ELISA for CCHF but with relevant epidemiologic exposures and compatible clinical disease) of CCHF were identified. The outbreak originated in rural Balochistan, a region of known CCHF endemicity where miniepidemics regularly occur, and subsequently spread to the urban centers of Quetta and Karachi. This outbreak demonstrated the capacities and weaknesses associated with a developing country's response to hemorrhagic fever epidemics. We describe aspects of disease prevention, control challenges, and political obstacles posed by illness associated with what we refer to as the “Asian Ebola virus.”
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/421093