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. 2014 Feb 6;9(2):e85564.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085564. eCollection 2014.

Is the epidemiology of alkhurma hemorrhagic fever changing?: A three-year overview in Saudi Arabia

Ziad A Memish  1 , Shamsudeen F Fagbo  2 , Ahmed Osman Ali  2 , Rafat AlHakeem  2 , Fathelrhman M Elnagi  3 , Elijah A Bamgboye  4
Affiliations

Is the epidemiology of alkhurma hemorrhagic fever changing?: A three-year overview in Saudi Arabia

Ziad A Memish et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever disease is yet to be fully understood since the virus was isolated in 1994 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Setting: Preventive Medicine department, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Design: Retrospective analysis of all laboratory confirmed cases of Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever disease collected through active and passive surveillance from 1(st)-January 2009 to December, 31, 2011.

Results: Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever (AHFV) disease increased from 59 cases in 2009 to 93 cases in 2011. Cases are being discovered outside of the region where it was initially diagnosed in Saudi Arabia. About a third of cases had no direct contact with animals or its products. Almost all cases had gastro-intestinal symptoms. Case fatality rate was less than 1%.

Conclusions: Findings in this study showed the mode of transmission of AHFV virus may not be limited to direct contact with animals or its products. Gastro-intestinal symptoms were not previously documented. Observed low case fatality rate contradicted earlier reports. Close monitoring of the epidemiology of AHFV is recommended to aid appropriate diagnosis. Housewives are advised to wear gloves when handling animals and animal products as a preventive measure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The monthly distribution of Alkhurma disease over a three year period in Saudi Arabia (2009–2011).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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