Afghanistan's Tick-Borne Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Epidemiology

Hedayatullah Ehsan^1,2*, Abubakr Yosufi², Sharifullah Niazi^3,4, Ali Sina Karimi¹ and Abdul Wakil Ramakee^1
1Medical Sciences, Research Center, Ghalib University, Kabul, Afghanistan
²DMD-Doctor, Kabul University of Medical Sciences, Kabul, Afghanistan
³Social Behavioral Change Department, UNICEF, Kabul, Afghanistan
⁴Research Department, Mili Higher Education Institute, Kabul, Afghanistan
*Correspondence Author: Hedayatullah Ehsan, Medical Sciences, Research Center, Ghalib University, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Published: November 07, 2023

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Abstract  

Over the past decades, Afghanistan has encountered several serious healthcare difficulties. One of these occurrences, a lethal endemic of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), hit Afghanistan in 1998. A broad assessment of the literature reveals a number of characteristics that put the people of Afghanistan at a very high risk of developing CCHF. First off, the nation's poor healthcare system is now ill-equipped to handle difficulties of this kind. Medical institutions and healthcare personnel lack the necessary tools to correctly diagnose, treat, and prevent CCHF. Second, a significant percentage of people is ignorant about the vector's propagation and methods of control. Afghanistan has a major agricultural industry, and as a result, many individuals are active in caring for animals and handling cattle, which can result in the spread of the CCHF virus. Finally, during the past 20 years of the republican government of Afghanistan after the initial tenure of the Taliban's government as a result of the Afghan war, a sizable number of Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, a nation where CCHF is endemic. This increased Afghanistan's vulnerability. This literature review identifies probable causes of high-risk CCHF and offers suggestions that Afghan policy-makers may desire to take into account in order to ameliorate the existing situation.

Keywords: Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever; Afghanistan; Zoonotic Diseases; Infectious Virus; Endemic; CCHF; Outbreak

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