Background and Objective: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral infection transmitted by ticks.. It is classified as a biosafety level (4) global pathogen with mortality rate of approximately 40%. This epidemiological survey study aimed to explore the CCHF infection rate in Iraq during 2021.
Methods: Saved samples from May to December 2021 (61 samples) collected from the suspected patients who attended health departments in eight Iraqi governorates (Dhi Qar, Baghdad, Nineveh, Babel, Erbil, Diyala, Anbar and Muthanna), were examined. Molecular detection of CCHF viral RNA was performed via real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR (rRT-PCR). The results were analyzed by GraphPad Prism and SPSS software.
Results: CCHF was detected in 18 (29.5%) suspected samples. The epidemiological investigation documented 8 (44.44%) fatalities among the individuals who tested positive. Most diagnosed cases and deaths were in the age group ≤40 years, and the highest percentage of positive cases of CCHF infection (14, 77.8%) was detected in Dhi Qar with highly significant statistical difference (P<0.01) compared to other provinces.
Conclusion: The high numbers of confirmed cases and deaths due to CCHF infection represent critical situation of the disese prevalence thatcan be considered a health issue in Iraq. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct epidemiological surveys to reduce the disease incidence and detect the extent of the spread of ticks that transmit the virus.