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Abstract
Objective: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a disease with high fatality rate. The most common vector is Hyalomma ticks. Our objective is to evaluate the demographical characteristics, geographical and climatic distributions of CCHF cases in an endemic province, and to determine the relationship between the distribution of tick species and the prevalence of the disease.
Methods: In this study, 78 confirmed CCHF cases in Artvin province were evaluated. The demographical characteristics of the patients, geographical and climatic distributions, and their history of tick bite were assessed. The province was divided into two groups of regions according to presence of CCHF. These two region groups were compared in terms of human population, animals, ticks, and the number of sera samples submitted.
Results: The CCHF patients involved in this study comprised 42 (54%) male and 36 (46%) female cases, and their mean age (± standard deviation) was 43 (± 18). The fatality rate was determined to be 6.4%. It was ascertained that the number of animals in the region where CCHF cases were seen formed 83.9% of the total, and that H. marginatum species of ticks were seen in this region.
Conclusions: The CCHF cases were seen in the region where ticks of the genus Hyalomma were observed, whereas they were not seen in the region where Ixodes spp. ticks were observed. The distribution of CCHF cases coincides with that of H. marginatum. It was observed that the number of animals was more in the region where CCHF cases were seen and the altitudes were higher.