Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn
Background: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease. CCHF is an emerging infectious disease given the expanding distribution of its main vector. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of CCHFV infection in migrants from Africa who attended a tertiary health care ce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000201 |
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| author | Helena Miriam Lorenzo Juanes Amparo López-Bernus Belen Vicente Montserrat Alonso-Sardón Beatriz Rodríguez Alonso Josue Pendones Ulerio Pedro Fernandez Soto Juan Luis Muñoz Bellido Antonio Muro Moncef Belhassen-García |
| author_facet | Helena Miriam Lorenzo Juanes Amparo López-Bernus Belen Vicente Montserrat Alonso-Sardón Beatriz Rodríguez Alonso Josue Pendones Ulerio Pedro Fernandez Soto Juan Luis Muñoz Bellido Antonio Muro Moncef Belhassen-García |
| author_sort | Helena Miriam Lorenzo Juanes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease. CCHF is an emerging infectious disease given the expanding distribution of its main vector. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of CCHFV infection in migrants from Africa who attended a tertiary health care centre in Spain. Methodology: A seroepidemiological study was conducted among African patients referred to the University Hospital of Salamanca, Spain. Patients were retrospectively recruited from 2005 to 2023. Principal findings: We screened 485 serum samples, with a mean (±SD) age of 17 years (±9.9). Among these individuals, 18 were IgG positive and 9 were IgM positive, resulting in an IgG seroprevalence against CCHFV of 3.71 % and an IgM seroprevalence of 1.85 %. Most IgG-positive samples were collected in 2010 (14/316), representing a seroprevalence of 4.43 %. Forty-seven percent of the immigrant participants were from Equatorial Guinea; thus, the IgG seroprevalence among the Equatorial Guinean immigrant population (13/228) was 5.70 %. All patients were negative according to RT‒PCR. Conclusions: This is the first serosurvey conducted in Spain to suggest possible active circulation of the virus in Africans. Our results suggest the need for more extensive clinical and epidemiological studies in Africans to determine the epidemiology and transmission of CCHFV in Spain and to evaluate the relevance of control measures for clinical interventions in situations with a potential risk of transmission. Although the risk is considered very low in these collectives, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of new CCHF cases, given the high pathogenicity of CCHFV and the risk of transmission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ab76e44e5aa74eb1a4d6f07c7e1357de |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1873-0442 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease |
| spelling | doaj-art-ab76e44e5aa74eb1a4d6f07c7e1357de2025-02-09T04:59:51ZengElsevierTravel Medicine and Infectious Disease1873-04422025-03-0164102814Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learnHelena Miriam Lorenzo Juanes0Amparo López-Bernus1Belen Vicente2Montserrat Alonso-Sardón3Beatriz Rodríguez Alonso4Josue Pendones Ulerio5Pedro Fernandez Soto6Juan Luis Muñoz Bellido7Antonio Muro8Moncef Belhassen-García9Servicio de Microbiología y Parasitología, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca (HUS), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales (CIETUS), Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainPhD Servicio de Medicina Interna, Unidad de Infecciosas. HUS. IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainGrupo Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales (e-INTRO). IBSAL. CIETUS. Facultad de Farmacia. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainÁrea de Medicina Preventiva, Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Facultad de Medicina. CIETUS. IBSAL. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainServicio de Medicina Interna, Unidad de Infecciosas. HUS. IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainServicio de Microbiología y Parasitología. HUS. IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas y Del Diagnóstico, Universidad de Salamanca. CSIC, Salamanca, SpainGrupo Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales (e-INTRO). IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainServicio de Microbiología y Parasitología. HUS. IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas y Del Diagnóstico, Universidad de Salamanca. CSIC, Salamanca, SpainGrupo Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales (e-INTRO). IBSAL. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, SpainServicio de Medicina Interna, Unidad de Infecciosas. HUS. IBSAL. e-INTRO. CIETUS. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Corresponding author.Background: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease. CCHF is an emerging infectious disease given the expanding distribution of its main vector. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of CCHFV infection in migrants from Africa who attended a tertiary health care centre in Spain. Methodology: A seroepidemiological study was conducted among African patients referred to the University Hospital of Salamanca, Spain. Patients were retrospectively recruited from 2005 to 2023. Principal findings: We screened 485 serum samples, with a mean (±SD) age of 17 years (±9.9). Among these individuals, 18 were IgG positive and 9 were IgM positive, resulting in an IgG seroprevalence against CCHFV of 3.71 % and an IgM seroprevalence of 1.85 %. Most IgG-positive samples were collected in 2010 (14/316), representing a seroprevalence of 4.43 %. Forty-seven percent of the immigrant participants were from Equatorial Guinea; thus, the IgG seroprevalence among the Equatorial Guinean immigrant population (13/228) was 5.70 %. All patients were negative according to RT‒PCR. Conclusions: This is the first serosurvey conducted in Spain to suggest possible active circulation of the virus in Africans. Our results suggest the need for more extensive clinical and epidemiological studies in Africans to determine the epidemiology and transmission of CCHFV in Spain and to evaluate the relevance of control measures for clinical interventions in situations with a potential risk of transmission. Although the risk is considered very low in these collectives, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of new CCHF cases, given the high pathogenicity of CCHFV and the risk of transmission.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000201Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virusScreeningAfricaMigrantsEmerging diseaseHaemorrhagic fever |
| spellingShingle | Helena Miriam Lorenzo Juanes Amparo López-Bernus Belen Vicente Montserrat Alonso-Sardón Beatriz Rodríguez Alonso Josue Pendones Ulerio Pedro Fernandez Soto Juan Luis Muñoz Bellido Antonio Muro Moncef Belhassen-García Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus Screening Africa Migrants Emerging disease Haemorrhagic fever |
| title | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn |
| title_full | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn |
| title_fullStr | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn |
| title_short | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among African individuals in Spain: Lessons to learn |
| title_sort | crimean congo haemorrhagic fever virus screening among african individuals in spain lessons to learn |
| topic | Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus Screening Africa Migrants Emerging disease Haemorrhagic fever |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000201 |
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