title: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Mauritania.
abstract: From February to August 2003, 38 persons were infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in Mauritania; 35 of these persons were residents of Nouakchott. The first patient was a young woman who became ill shortly after butchering a goat. She transmitted the infection to 15 persons in the hospital where she was admitted and four members of her family. In Nouakchott, two disease clusters and 11 isolated cases were identified. The case-fatality ratio was 28.6%. Of the patients not infected by the first case-patient, almost half were butchers, which suggests that the primary mode of animal-to-human transmission was direct contact with blood of infected animals. The hospital outbreak alerted health authorities to sporadic cases that occurred in the following weeks, which would have probably gone otherwise unnoticed. Studies must be conducted to determine the potential risk for continued sporadic outbreaks of CCHF in humans and to propose prevention measures.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal. nabeth@pasteur.sn
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nabeth
authors.forename: Dah Ould
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Cheikh
authors.forename: Baidy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Ousmane
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.forename: Idoumou Ould Mohamed
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Vall
authors.forename: Mbayame
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niang
authors.forename: Bocar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wague
authors.forename: Djibril
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Diop
authors.forename: Mawlouth
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: Ousmane Madiagne
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Diop
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle / Q000821:virology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005260:Female; D006041:Goats / Q000821:virology; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008435:Mauritania / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep / Q000821:virology; D013987:Ticks / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral