title: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever infections reported by ProMED.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are limited sources describing the global burden of emerging diseases. We reviewed the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) infections reported by ProMED and assessed the reliability of the data retrieved compared to published reports. We evaluated the effectiveness of ProMED as a source of epidemiological data by focusing on CCHFV infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the keywords "Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever" and "Crimean Congo" in the ProMED search engine, we reviewed all the information about the news and harvested data using a structured form, including year, country, gender, occupation, the number of infected individuals, and the number of fatal cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 383 entries reported between January 1998 and October 2013. A total 3426 infected cases were reported, with 451 fatal cases, giving an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 13%. Out of 144 cases for which the gender was reported, 97 (67%) were male. Most of the cases were reported from Turkey, followed by Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Case reporting systems such as ProMED are useful to gather information and synthesize knowledge on the emerging infections. Although certain areas need to be improved, ProMED provided good information about Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ince
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cagla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yasa
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mert
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metin
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sonmez
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ece
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meram
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Barlas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Benkli
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: oergonul@ku.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Onder
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ergonul
mesh_terms: D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; Epidemiology; ProMED