Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Humans and Livestock, Pakistan, 2015–2017

Abstract

C rimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by CCHF virus (CCHFV), an emerging zoonotic virus belonging to the order Bunyavirales within the family Nairoviridae. The virus is maintained through a tick-vertebrate transmission cycle (1); the primary vectors are ticks from the genus Hyalomma (2,3). Wild and domestic mammals, including livestock species such as sheep, goats, and cattle, are amplifying hosts (2). CCHFV is listed as a high-priority zoonotic pathogen of humans in the World Health Organization Research and Development Blueprint (https://www.who.int/blueprint/ priority-diseases) because of its potential to cause a public health emergency and the absence of specific treatment and vaccines.