The efficacy of oral ribavirin in treatment of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iran

Background: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever is a fatal viral disease that occurs in some parts of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Middle-East. Primarily it is a zoonosis but can be seen sporadically in humans. Recently outbreaks have been reported from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran. Objective: This study was performed to determine the effecacy of oral ribavirin in treament of CCHF cases by comparing the outcome in two treated and non-treated confirmed CCHF cases. Methods: In this retrospective study 81 confirmed CCHF cases (by serology or viral culture) were evaluated for the incidence of outcome (death or recovery) in the from of an analytic case-control study. Results were analyzed by statistical tests. Findings: From 69 proved CCHF cases who were treated by oral ribavirin and 12 cases who had received no drugs, 61 and 5 cases were survived respectively. Conclusion: Oral ribavirin with an efficacy of 91% can be an effective medical therapy for management of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.