Factors For Acquisition of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Children in Southeast of Iran

CrimeanCongo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tickborne disease caused by arbovirus which can be transmitted to human by several routes. Tick bite and living in a rural area have been the most common factors for inception of CCHF in adults and children in studies reported from Iran. This study was conducted to detect the disease acquisition routes among children with confirmed CCHF in southeastern Iran. We evaluated all the files of patients with confirmed CCHF who were younger than 19 years old and were admitted to university hospitals (Zahedan, Southeastern Iran) during January 2000January 2014. Among 41 children and adolescents with CCHF (35 males and six females with age range of 519 years), animal contacts (23%) and living in endemic area (19%) were the most common factors for acquisition of the disease. Children and adolescents can acquire CCHF through the same routes that adults can be infected but, in children tick bite is an uncommon way.