title: Meeting report: First International Conference on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
abstract: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the most widespread tick-borne disease of humans, occurring from western China to the Balkans in Eurasia and south throughout the length of Africa. Its incidence has increased over the past decade, particularly in Turkey and Iran, and the disease has also emerged in India. Research has been hindered by limited laboratory capacity in many regions where the disease is prevalent, indicating the need for collaboration between investigators in endemic countries and those with greater scientific resources. In an effort to increase such collaboration, the First International Conference on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, from February 13 to 14, 2015. This meeting followed the conclusion of an EU-supported Collaborative Project under the Health Cooperation Work Programme of the 7th Framework Programme (Grant agreement No. 260427). It is expected to be the first in a series of meetings that will bring together researchers from around the world to exchange knowledge and experience on various aspects of CCHF. This report summarizes major presentations by the invited speakers at the First International Conference on CCHF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: annap@med.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.affiliation: Institute for Virology, University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hewson
authors.affiliation: Stirling University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weidmann
authors.affiliation: Karadeniz Technical University, Medical Faculty, Department of Infectious Diseases, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Iftihar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koksal
authors.affiliation: Public Health Institute, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Korukluoglu
authors.affiliation: Department for Clinical Microbiology, LabMed, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirazimi
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence
keywords: Arbovirus; Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; Viral hemorrhagic fever; Zoonosis