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Review
. 2022 Mar;29(3):1900-1910.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.10.031. Epub 2021 Oct 22.

Human Alkhumra hemorrhagic Fever: Emergence, history and epidemiological and clinical profiles

Ahmed A Abdulhaq  1   2   3 , Almonther A Hershan  4   5 , Kaliyaperumal Karunamoorthi  3   6 , Hesham M Al-Mekhlafi  3   7   8
Affiliations
Review

Human Alkhumra hemorrhagic Fever: Emergence, history and epidemiological and clinical profiles

Ahmed A Abdulhaq et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic disease in humans. It is caused by Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), a newly described flavivirus first isolated in 1995 in Alkhumra district, south of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. It is transmitted from infected livestock animals to humans by direct contact with infected animals or by tick bites. In the recent past, the incidence of AHF has increased, with a total of 604 confirmed cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia between 1995 and 2020. Yet, no specific treatment or control strategies have been developed and implemented against this infection. Hence, the likelihood of increased prevalence or the occurrence of outbreaks is high, particularly in the absence of appropriate prevention and control strategies. This narrative review presents an overview of the current knowledge and future concerns about AHF globally.

Keywords: AHF, Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever; AHFV, Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus; Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus; CCHFV, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus; CFV, chikungunya fever virus; DENV, dengue fever virus; Flaviviruses; ICTV, International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses; Infectious diseases; KFDV, Kyasanur Forest disease virus; OHFV, Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus; RVFV, Rift Valley fever virus; Saudi Arabia; YFV, yellow fever virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of studies selection process using PRISMA guidelines.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of annual human AHFV cases reported in Saudi Arabia between 1995 and 2020.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A phylogenetic tree based on complete flavivirus amino acid sequences and the maximum likelihood method. All branchings were supported by quartet puzzling frequencies at 99% or 100% except at the forks where a value is indicated. The tick-borne flavivirus group is highlighted in green, the mosquito-borne flavivirus group in blue and the no-known vector flavivirus group in yellow. To improve the legibility of the tree, the distal part of the TBFV branch is presented with a 3.5 × magnification. Reprinted from Virology, 361(1), Grard G, Moureau G, Charrel RN, Lemasson JJ, Gonzalez JP, Gallian P, Gritsun TS, Holmes EC, Gould EA, de Lamballerie X, Genetic characterization of tick-borne flaviviruses: new insights into evolution, pathogenetic determinants and taxonomy, pp 80–92, Copyright (2007), with permission from Elsevier.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A map showing the distribution of Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus reported in humans and ticks. The map was created using the Esri ArcGIS 10.7 software.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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