miércoles, 30 de enero de 2013

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks from Migratory Birds, Morocco1 - Vol. 19 No. 2 - February 2013 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks from Migratory Birds, Morocco1 - Vol. 19 No. 2 - February 2013 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Georges de La Tour (1593‒1652) La Femme à la puce (The Flea Catcher) (1638) Oil on canvas (90 cm × 120 cm) Musée Lorrain, Nancy. Photo P. Mignot

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks from Migratory Birds, Morocco¹

The Study

Conclusions

Acknowledgment

References

Figure 1

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Table

Suggested Citation

Ana M. Palomar, Aránzazu Portillo, Paula Santibáñez, David Mazuelas, Juan Arizaga, Ariñe Crespo, Óscar Gutiérrez, Juan Francisco Cuadrado, and José A. Oteo

Author affiliations: Author affiliations: Hospital San Pedro–CIBIR, Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-Borne Diseases, Logroño, Spain. (A.M. Palomar, A. Portillo, P. Santibáñez, J.A. Oteo); Environment Resources Inc., Logroño (D. Mazuelas); Aranzadi Society of Sciences, San Sebastián, Spain (J. Arizaga, A. Crespo, Ó. Gutiérrez, J.F. Cuadrado)

Abstract

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus was detected in ticks removed from migratory birds in Morocco. This finding demonstrates the circulation of this virus in northwestern Africa and supports the hypothesis that the virus can be introduced into Europe by infected ticks transported from Africa by migratory birds.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), the causative agent of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHV), is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) with clinical relevance worldwide (1). CCHF causes sudden onset of signs and symptoms including headache, high fever, back pain, joint pain, stomach pain, and vomiting, which can progress to severe bruising, severe nosebleeds, and uncontrolled bleeding (www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/cchf.htm).
CCHFV, belonging to the genus Nairovirus, circulates in an enzootic tick-vertebrate-tick cycle in which ticks can act as vectors and reservoirs. CCHFV has been found in ticks of >30 species; Hyalomma marginatum ticks are considered the most common vectors. Birds are the main hosts for the immature stages of this tick species (2). Viremia does not develop in most passerine birds (3,4), which are not able to pass the virus to ticks. However, migratory species could carry infected ticks over long distances and thereby disseminate the virus (2).
Since the first descriptions of human infections with this virus in 1944–1955 in Crimea, outbreaks of CCHF have been reported in Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe (1). Only imported cases have been reported in western Europe, although the causal agent has been amplified in H. lusitanicum ticks collected from deer in Spain (southwestern Europe) (5). This finding could be explained by the arrival of infected ticks transported by migratory birds coming from Africa (5). To confirm this hypothesis, we investigated the presence of CCHFV in ticks collected from migratory birds in northern Africa.