10 Iranians Suspected with CCHF Die Since Iranian New Year

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, June 21, 2002

10 Iranians Suspected with CCHF Die Since Iranian New Year

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Ten Iranians, suspected of being infected with the Ebola-type Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), have died since the new Iranian year starting from March 21, the Iranian official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.

Behrouz Ataie, a specialist of infectious diseases, told a conference on CCHF held at the central Iranian city of Isfahan thatthe victims are among 28 suspected patients, who have been identified since March as having contracted the viral disease.

Only the contamination of three victims with CCHF virus have been confirmed, the specialist said, adding that there are no exactstatistics on the rates of infection with the disease, because there are no modern laboratories to diagnose the disease in Iran.

The specialist said that the southern and southeastern provincesof Fars and Sistan Baluchestan as well as central Tehran province have the highest rates of infection with CCHF.

"In Isfahan province alone, 26 people, suspected of having the disease, were identified last year, six of whom died," Ataie said.

Unlike in other parts of the world, where the disease is transmitted through tick bites, the most common contagion with CCHFin Iran is through contacts with the contaminated meat and thus butchers and housewives are the most infected in Iran.

Behrouz Yassemi, a senior veterinary official of the state veterinary organization, tried to play down on Monday the rising concern about the disease, saying that only 123 people have been identified so far as positive with CCHF virus.

The official had earlier rejected reports that 30 percent of theIran's cattle were contaminated with CCHF, stressing that the results of medical samples taken from the smuggled cattle from Afghanistan, where the disease is said to have originated from, hadindicated only a 1.6 percent contamination.

Iranian health officials have sounded public alarm over the spread of the contagious disease, which is common among humans and animals.

The symptoms of CCHF are similar to those of flu, including bleeding in the nose, gums and bowels. The virus is usually transmitted by infected sheep, cows and camels.

CCHF is said to be endemic in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, parts of southern Europe and most of North Africa.

The disease first appeared in the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine between 1944-1945. It unleashed its rage against Congo in 1956, killing thousands in the African country.

In Iran, CCHF was first tracked down in the northeastern province of Khorassan in 1978. The virus had reportedly entered thecountry through imported cattle from the eastern borders.

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