One health investigation following a cluster of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever, North Macedonia, July to November 2023
Eurosurveillance·
- DOI
- 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2025.30.4.2400286
- PMID
- 39885822
- PMCID
- PMC11920785
- OpenAlex
- W4407039750
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings support the conclusion that CCHFV is endemic in the investigated area of North Macedonia, underscoring the need for awareness of risk factors, education to reduce exposure, early detection, and collaborative surveillance efforts to prevent and control CCHF in affected regions.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
Following three 2023 human cases, the study investigated serological evidence of CCHFV exposure in healthcare workers and small ruminants, the presence of CCHFV in ticks, and the genetic relatedness of the index-case virus strain in a North Macedonian village.
Study design
A one-health field investigation conducted in 2023, combining serological testing (ELISA) of human and animal samples, tick virological testing, and sequencing of virus obtained from the index case.
Population and setting
Healthcare workers involved in treating CCHF patients, sheep and goats from the village of the index case, and Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from those animals, in an area of North Macedonia in 2023.
Main findings
Antibodies against CCHFV were detected in four of 52 healthcare workers and 10 of 17 small ruminants. CCHFV was not detected in any of 24 R. bursa ticks tested. The index-case virus clustered within the Europe-1 lineage (genotype V) and was most closely related to strains reported from Kosovo.
Public-health relevance
The findings support the conclusion that CCHFV is endemic in the investigated area of North Macedonia, underscoring the need for awareness of risk factors, education to reduce exposure, early detection, and collaborative surveillance efforts to prevent and control CCHF in affected regions.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including details on sampling design, assay performance, and representativeness.
GIDS interpretation
The article is indexed under haemorrhagic fever, North Macedonia, and one-health, diagnostics, and surveillance topics, making it discoverable as regional one-health evidence on CCHFV circulation; no connection is made here to a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 9 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.