Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Diagnosis
| How is Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever diagnosed? | |
Laboratory tests that are used to diagnose CCHF include antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), virus isolation attempts, and detection of antibody by ELISA (IgG and IgM). Laboratory diagnosis of a patient with a clinical history compatible with CCHF can be made during the acute phase of the disease by using the combination of detection of the viral antigen (ELISA antigen capture), viral RNA sequence (RT-PCR) in the blood or in tissues collected from a fatal case and virus isolation. Immunohistochemical staining can also show evidence of viral antigen in formalin-fixed tissues. Later in the course of the disease, in people surviving, antibodies can be found in the blood. But antigen, viral RNA and virus are no more present and detectable
| Are there complications after recovery? | |
The long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied well enough in survivors to determine whether or not specific complications exist. However, recovery is slow.
| Is the disease ever fatal? | |
In documented outbreaks of CCHF, fatality rates in hospitalized patients have ranged from 9% to as high as 50%.
