- "Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused
by infection with a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) in the family Bunyaviridae.
The disease was first characterized in the Crimea in 1944 and given the
name Crimean hemorrhagic fever. It was then later recognized in 1969 as
the cause of illness in the Congo, thus resulting in the current name of
the disease.*"
-
- http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpages/dispages/cchf.htm
-
- Hello Jeff - Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever is a threat
to all of our service personnel serving in the Middle East. The headline
refers to a young 22 year old Sergeant from River Falls, Alabama who was
stationed close to Kabul, Afghanistan when he was bit by a tick. He became
ill and died of a heart attack as a result of CCHF infection.
-
- The soldier had already served one tour of duty and had
re-enlisted intending to soldier on for another 6 years. He loved serving
his country and always wanted to be in the military. He late Father was
a military veteran.
-
- His case should demonstrate the need for our military
personnel to be aware of the risks of contracting Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic
Fever. CCHF is not only contracted via tick bite but also nosocomially
to health care workers from contact with an infected patient's blood or
bodily fluids. One can also contract CCHF via contact with animal tissue
and blood.
-
- Patty
-
- Date: Thu 17 Sep 2009 Source: Andalusia Star-News.com
(edited) http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/news/2009/sep/17/virus-claims-local-soldier
-
- Virus Claims Soldier - Infection Came >From Afghanistan
Tick Bite
- By Justin Schuver
-
- A United States Army soldier from Covington County, Alabama,
died Wednesday [16 Sep 2009] in Landstuhl, Germany, after succumbing
to a virus he contracted from a tick [bite] while serving in
Afghanistan.
-
- The 22-year-old sergeant from River Falls, Alabama, was
stationed close to Afghanistan's capital of Kabul when the
tick bit him, said a relative in Andalusia. "As far as
we know, he was bitten by a tick that carried a virus,"
said his relative, who has been in contact with the soldier's
family in Germany. "It put him into a coma for 5 days
and they had him on a dialysis machine. He had a heart attack and
passed away Wednesday morning [16 Sep 2009] at (approximately 8:30
p.m. Tuesday night, Alabama time)."
-
- His relative said doctors determined the soldier contracted
the rare Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, which
has been recorded in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. According
to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Factfile, the mortality
rate for the CCHF virus is 30 percent
-
-
- [see
- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs208/en/index.html
and comment below. - Mod.CP]
-
- The soldier's relative said that he may have been the
1st U.S. soldier to contract the virus in Afghanistan. "We
have heard that he was going out into the countryside with
some goat herdsmen, and he picked it up there."
-
- The virus has a 3-week incubation period, and then once
it comes out of incubation, it starts to attack. [According
to the WHO Web site: Following infection via tick bite, the
incubation period is usually one to 3 days, with a maximum
of 9 days. The incubation period following contact with infected
blood or tissues is usually 5 to 6 days, with a documented
maximum of 13 days. - Mod.CP]. The soldier started hemorrhaging
on Sunday [13 Sep 2009], and the doctors gave him 2 units of
packed red-blood cells and platelets.
-
- "Tuesday, they gave him another dose of platelets,
and administered a feeding tube. By that point, we were told
his [probability of survival] had dropped from 50 percent to
5 percent. I was talking to his sister (on Wed 16 Sep 2009)
and the doctors were going to take him for a CAT scan, but
the heart attack hit before they could do that."
-
- The deceased soldier 1st enlisted in the U.S. Army more
than 4 years ago in Montgomery. He was assigned to Fort Lewis
in Pierce County, Washington, and became a member of the 5th
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, which was
sent to Afghanistan in July [2009]. He had recently re-enlisted
with the U.S. Army for 6 more years, and his late father had
also served in the military. "He had come home for a visit
in August," his relative said. "The military was
his life. The only thing he wanted to do was go into service. He was
very honored to serve his country."
-
- The relative said funeral arrangements have not been
finalized, and the immediate family is still in Germany. The
body will undergo an autopsy in Atlanta, Georgia, prior to
a funeral.
-
- Communicated by ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
-
- The geographical distribution of CCHF, like that of its
tick vector, is widespread. Evidence of CCHF virus has been
found in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Health care workers in endemic areas should be aware of the
illness and the correct infection control procedures to protect
themselves and their patients from the risk of nosocomial (hospital-acquired)
infection. Humans who become infected with CCHF acquire the
virus from direct contact with blood or other infected tissues
from livestock during this time, or they may become infected
from a tick bite. The majority of cases have occurred in those
involved with the livestock industry, such as agricultural
workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians.
-
- According to the WHO Web site, general supportive therapy
is the mainstay of patient management in CCHF. Intensive monitoring
to guide volume and blood component replacement is required.
The antiviral drug ribavirin has been used in treatment of established
CCHF infection with apparent benefit.
-
-
- Both oral and intravenous formulations seem to
be effective. The value of immune plasma from recovered patients for
therapeutic purposes has not been demonstrated, although it has been
employed on several occasions. No vaccine is currently available, but
as this incident indicates there is an urgent need for development of
a prophylactic vaccine. - Mod.CP
-
- CCHF virus infection was originally reported from a 1944
outbreak affecting 200 Soviet military who were assisting peasants
in the war-devastated Crimean peninsula of the Ukraine. Only
about 5000 cases of CCHF virus infection have been recorded
since then in the literature, and given the relatively small
number of people at risk for contracting the disease, large-scale
development and production of a vaccine to modern regulatory
standards seems unlikely. Ref: Ergonul O & Whitehouse
CA 2007 Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Springer. - Mod.JW
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural
Economics Univ of West Indies Please visit my "Emerging Diseases"
message board at: http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php Also my
new website: http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/ Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
Go with God and in Good Health
-
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