Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Greece: a public health perspective

Received 4 August 2008; received in revised form 3 October 2008; accepted 25 November 2008. published online 20 January 2009.

Summary

In June 2008 the first non-imported fatal case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was recorded in northern Greece. We present herein the public health interventions and the case definitions we developed for the epidemiological investigation. The possibility of CCHF establishing endemicity in this area is discussed.

Corresponding Editor: William Cameron, Ottawa, Canada

Keywords: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Hemorrhagic fever, Greece, Public health, Ticks, Vector-borne diseases

a Department for Interventions in Health-Care Facilities, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 42 3rd Septemvriou Street, Athens, Greece

b First Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Reference on Arboviruses and Haemorrhagic Fever Viruses, Thessaloniki, Greece

c Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

d First Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece

e Second Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece

Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 210 8899 044; fax: +30 210 8899 330.

PII: S1201-9712(08)01749-9

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2008.11.011

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