title: Seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Sistan-va-Baluchestan province of Iran.
abstract: During the years 2000 to 2004, of 248 serologically confirmed cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) that occurred in several parts of Iran, 169 were reported from Sistan-va-Baluchestan province. To assess the seroprevalence of CCHF virus infection within the Zahedan and Zabol districts of the Sistan-va-Baluchestan province in Iran, 300 subjects were sampled from the general population. In addition to blood sampling, a questionnaire was completed for every subject. All but just 3 of our 300 sampled subjects participated in blood sampling, and just 7 out of the 297 serum samples were found to be IgG ELISA positive. The point estimate of the seroprevalence was 0.024 (95% confidence interval: 0.003-0.044). A history of keeping livestock in houses (even for short periods) showed an association with seropositivity (P = 0.018). It seems that even occasional contact with livestock could be effective in transmission of the virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahrokh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Izadi
authors.forename: Kourosh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Holakouie-Naieni
authors.forename: Seyed Reza
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Majdzadeh
authors.forename: Sadegh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinikar
authors.forename: Abolhassan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nadim
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rakhshani
authors.forename: Badakhshan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hooshmand
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies