H&E section of human liver infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Note large area of hemorrhagic necrosis. (Source: Reproduced from Congo-Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever in Dubai: Histopathological Studies. Baskerville, A., et al., 1981. J. Clin. Pathol. 34, 871–874.)
The USDA has expanded its National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) to research two zoonotic diseases including Nipah virus and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). CCHF was first characterized in Crimea in 1944 and later connected to illness in the Congo in 1957, hence the reason behind the name Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. CCHF is part of the Bunyavirus family and is transmitted through Ixodes ticks in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Although the tick species and transmission of CCHF in the Mediterranean is well documented, very little is known about the disease in Africa, the Middle East, Southeastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia.
Dr. Dennis Bente, DVM, PhD is an Associate Professor in the UTMB Department of Microbiology and Immunology and was recently awarded a grant with the USDA to research tick species and transmission cycle of CCHF in different regions. The project will include Dr. Maureen Laroche, PhD, a medical and veterinary entomologist, and partners at the University of California – Davis.
The study will implement a One Health approach utilizing field work, surveillance, and bench work in nations across Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. After gathering samples and obtaining data, the team will determine which regional tick species harbor CCHF, the prevalence of CCHF among those tick species, and the transmission of CCHF to humans. Utilizing a One Health approach, the team will then use tick and human serological data to better understand both tick migration patterns across these countries as well as and incidence of CCHF in humans in these regions.