Nosocomial infections caused by Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus
Publication date: Available online 9 December 2019Source: Journal of Hospital InfectionAuthor(s): Katerina Tsergouli, Theodoros Karampatakis, Anna-Bettina Haidich, Symeon Metallidis, Anna PapaSummaryCrimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute febrile illness, often accompanied by haemorrhagic manifestations, with high case fatality rate (CFR). The causative agent is CCHF virus (CCHFV) and is transmitted to humans mainly through tick bites or exposure to blood or tissues of viremic patients or livestock. Human-to-human transmission usually occurs in hospital settings and health care workers (HCWs) are mainly affected. A review on nosocomial CCHFV infections was performed to elucidate the routes and circumstances of CCHFV transmission in hospital settings.From 1953 to 2016, 158 published cases of CCHFV nosocomial infection in 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe were found. Almost all cases were symptomatic (92.4%) with an overall CFR of 32.4%. The majority occurred in hospital clinics (92.0%), and 10 cases (8.0%) in laboratories. Most cases occurred among HCWs (86.1%), followed by visitors (12.7%) and hospitalized patients (1.3%). Nursing staff (44.9%) and doctors (32.3%) were the most affected HCWs, followed by laboratory staff (6.3%). The primary transmission route was percutaneous contact (34.3%). Cutaneous contact accounted for 22.2%, followed by exposure to aerosols (proximity) (18.2%), indirect contact (17.2%) and exposure to patient’s environment (8.1%).CCH...
Source: Journal of Hospital Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research