ABSTRACT
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a fatal viral infection described in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Humans become infected through the bites of ticks, by contact with a patient with CCHF during the acute phase of infection, or by contact with blood or tissues from viremic livestock. The occurrence of CCHF closely approximates the known world distribution of Hyalomma spp. ticks. The novel studies of phylogenetic analyses reveal the interesting relations between the strains from distant outbreaks. CCHF is a fatal viral infection described in parts of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Middle East (Hoogstraal, 1979; Watts et al., 1988). The virus belongs to the genus Nairovirus in the Bunyaviridae family and causes severe diseases in humans, with the reported mortality rate of 3%–30% (Ergonul, 2006; Watts et al., 1988). The geographic range of CCHFV is known to be the most extensive one among the tickborne viruses related to human health and the second most widespread of all medically important arboviruses after dengue viruses (Ergonul, 2006). Humans become infected through the bites of ticks, by contact with a patient with CCHF during the acute phase of infection, or by contact with blood or tissues from viremic livestock (Ergonul, 2006; Hoogstraal, 1979; Watts et al., 1988). The health care workers (HCWs) are under serious risk of transmission of the infection, particularly during the follow-up of the patient, with hemorrhages from the nose, mouth, gums, vagina, and injection sites.
