Epidemiological, serological and herd immunity of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Kosovo.

Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is primarily a zoonotic disease, mostly present as sporadic cases, but outbreaks also occur, especially in the family. Disease as endemic form is presents in some countries of Africa, Europe and Asia. In 2001, outbreak of CCHF was registered in Kosova, Albania, Pakistan, Iran, and South Africa. Goal of the research was to establish a pattern of the disease, its natural flow and herd immunity. For this purpose we used epidemiological methods, laboratory confirmation (ELISA, PCR) and t-test and chi2-test for results significance verification. Morbidity rate of the disease for the period of fifteen years (1995-2009) is 0.49 in 100,000 inhabitants, and lethality rate is 26.76 deaths on 100 lab confirmed cases. CCHF in Kosovo is present in 50% of the territory with common characteristics: altitude, hot climate, low bush and farming. Hyper endemic zones are in Central and South West of Kosovo. Seroprevalence in entire healthy population is found to be 24.3%. Presence of the CCHF antibodies was found in 14% of livestock, and in 32.6% of sheep. A phylogenetic aspect of the CCHFvirus isolated in Kosovo is the same as of the virus isolated in Drosdov (Russia).