Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: etiology, diagnosis, management and potential alternative therapy

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
• Main Authors: Mohammad Saleem, Muiz Tanvir, Muhammad Furqan Akhtar, Ammara Saleem
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020
• Subjects: congo fever; dengue fever; alternative therapy; antiviral plants; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.280221; https://doaj.org/article/fc1a4923dd2e4d89aa89ee15ca71a0f2

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus belongs to the genus Nairovirus and family Bunyaviridae. CCHF is a tickborne disease that has mostly been reported from Asia, Africa and Europe. Early diagnosis of CCHF is essential for patient care and preventing its spread to normal individuals. Treatment of CCHF is mostly limited to the use of ribavirin and palliative care. The practice of using interferon and vaccines has also been proved to be ineffective and unsafe. A search for an effective alternative treatment of the CCHF still continues. Therefore, the current review focusses on the cause, prevalence, mode of transmission, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, diagnostic features and treatment options of CCHF. This review also highlights the possible alternative therapy in the form of antiviral medicinal plants which are effective against viral hemorrhagic fever. These medicinal plants have shown convincing evidence for their activities against different viral hemorrhagic fevers and may be used alone or in combination with existing therapies to achieve an optimum therapeutic response.