Alkhurma virus
Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever (AHF) | |
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Other names | Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) Infectious disease (medical specialty) |
Symptoms | Mild symptoms: Fever, chills, headache, vomiting Severe symptoms: Epistaxis, purpura, leukopenia |
Complications | Thrombocytopenia, meningoencephalitis[2] |
Causes | Alkhurma virus |
Diagnostic method | Molecular detection of PCR, virus isolation, serologic testing |
Prevention | Tick repellents, limit contact with animals |
Treatment | Supportive therapy, monitoring of blood pressure and oxygen status |
Alkhurma virus (ALKV) (
Signs and symptoms
After an incubation period lasting as short as 2–4 days or as long as 8 days, people with AHF develop symptoms including fever, headache,
Taxonomy
Alkhurma virus | |
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Flavivirus structure and genome | |
Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Riboviria |
Kingdom: | Orthornavirae |
Phylum: | Kitrinoviricota |
Class: | Flasuviricetes |
Order: | Amarillovirales |
Family: | Flaviviridae |
Genus: | Flavivirus |
Species: | Kyasanur Forest disease virus |
Strain: | Alkhurma virus
|
The
Diagnosis
Laboratory diagnosis of ALKV can be performed in the early stages of the illness by molecular detection of PCR or virus isolation from the blood. Serologic testing using enzyme-linked immunosorbent serologic assay (ELISA) can be made afterward.[11] Treatment consists of supportive therapy which balances the person's fluids and electrolytes, oxygen status and blood pressure monitored and maintained, and additional treatment for any further complications. The mortality rate of hospitalized patients ranges from 1 to 20%.[12]
Treatment
Due to limited information pertaining to ALKV, no specific treatment, such as a
Epidemiology
The route of transmission for ALKV is not fully understood and is filled with huge knowledge gaps, though camels and sheep have been linked to be the natural hosts of this virus. There appears to be more than one possible route of transmission seen in people who have become infected with this virus: one or more bites by an infected tick, crushing an infected tick with unprotected fingers, ingestion of unpasteurised camel milk, or entry via a skin wound.[14] There is evidence pointing to the sand tampan, Ornithodoros savignyi, as the vector.[15] No cases of human-human transmission of AHF have ever been recorded.[16]
The geographic distribution of the virus has extended beyond Saudi Arabia; reports of ALKV have been documented in countries where there is no endemic vector of the disease, such as
As a response to the troubling illness, the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) is treating ALKV as one of the nationally notifiable diseases in the country. An effective surveillance system was established by the Ministry of Health, where any suspected case of ALKV must be reported immediately. Three forms must be filled out to properly ensure the virus is being sufficiently monitored: A suspect case form, an epidemiological investigation form, and a laboratory requisition form. The hospitals and health centers, either governmental or private, report the potential ALKV case to the desk officers in charge of viral hemorrhagic fevers at the Directorate of Health Affairs in their respective region. Afterward, the desk officer forwards the report to the Directorate of Infectious Diseases at the Preventive Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health. Before entering the case into the database system, the desk officer in charge of AHFV reviews the case reports for accuracy and completion. Subsequently, the desk officer at the Ministry of Health formulates daily reports for the higher directors at the Ministry of Health and forwards them as feedback to the regions and their respective health units.[18]
In 2018, the tick species H. rufipes, another possible vector for this virus, has been found to be infecting migratory birds in Europe.[19][20]
History
This virus
References
- ^ PMID 30260960.
- ^ "Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Complex Fact Sheet" (PDF). aaBB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF)" (PDF). CDC. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE)". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. US Government. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Alkhurma Virus (AHFV)". Gesundes Reisen (German). MD Medicus Reise- und Tropenmedizin GmbH. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- PMID 9196762.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF)". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- PMID 11554750. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- doi:10.1086/656326.
- PMID 21991403.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF) - Diagnosis". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Government. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF) - Treatment". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Government. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF) - Prevention". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Government. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever". MalaCards. Weizmann Institute of Science. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- PMID 17370534.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF) - Transmission". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Government. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- PMID 21122237.
- ^ PMID 24516520.
- PMID 29664386.
- ^ "Ticks on migratory birds carriers of hemorrhagic fever virus". Uppsala University. Uppsala University. Uppsala University: News. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Sometimes misidentified as "Al-Khumra" virus—"It's Al-Khurma, not Al-Khumra, says official", The Saudi Gazette, 13 Jan 2010, http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010011360023 Archived 2014-01-19 at archive.today.
- ^ "Alkhurma Hemorrhagic Fever (AHF)". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- PMID 22860139.
- PMID 21122217.
- ^ "Facts about Alkhurma haemorrhagic fever". European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. European Union. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
Further reading
- Charrel RN, Zaki AM, Fakeeh M, et al. (2005). "Low diversity of Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus, Saudi Arabia, 1994-1999". Emerging Infect. Dis. 11 (5): 683–8. PMID 15890119.
- Charrel RN, Zaki AM, Attoui H, et al. (2001). "Complete coding sequence of the Alkhurma virus, a tick-borne flavivirus causing severe hemorrhagic fever in humans in Saudi Arabia". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 287 (2): 455–61. PMID 11554750.