• Regina Vorou, Ioannis N Pierroutsakos, and Helen C Maltezou.
• Office for Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases, Athens, Greece.
• Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. 2007 Oct 1; 20 (5): 495-500.

Purpose Of ReviewCrimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne viral zoonosis with the potential of human-to-human transmission, affecting wide areas in Asia, Southeastern Europe, and Africa. Hemorrhagic manifestations constitute a prominent symptom of late stage disease with case fatality rates from 10% to 50%. The purpose of this article is to review recent literature on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever with emphasis on its epidemiology and management.Recent FindingsClimate and environmental changes may affect Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever epidemiology and trigger community outbreaks. Risk factors for acquisition of infection have been well studied. In the hospital, high-risk activities include interventions for gastrointestinal bleeding and needle stick injuries. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction may rapidly diagnose Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever with high sensitivity and specificity. Ribavirin is the only promising therapeutic agent currently available but case-control studies have not been conducted. Recently, the Mx proteins have been found to act against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and deserve further research.SummaryClinicians should be aware of the potential of importation of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever cases from endemic areas and nosocomial transmission. Studies on the efficacy of ribavirin are needed.

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