Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an important infection in many countries in Eurasia such as Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and recent cases have been exported to Germany, the UK and elsewhere. It has been described as the “Asian Ebola” and presents significant nosocomial infection risk and associated mortality. We have extensive experience of managing and researching CCHF in Turkey, where over 9.000 patients have been recorded by the Ministry of Health since it emerged in 2002. We have a network of centers, which are reference CCHF centers (nine centers) located in the CCHF epidemic regions of Turkey. These hospitals are designated as CCHF referral tertiary care centres and are distributed geographically throughout CCHF endemic region and members of our Crimean-Congo Research Network of Turkey (CCHF-RNT). Approximately half of the cases managed in these reference centers. Also we have collaboration with a secondary care hospitals in Tokat, Erzurum and Yozgat (annual number of cases is around 150). Our early studies include the epidemiologic features of the CCHF. Then we done a systematic review and met analysisand and showed that ribavirin has no effect on mortality.

 

We have research collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK. The contacts are Roger Hewson, Nick Beeching, Tim Brooks, David Lalloo and Tom Fletcher (WHO Ebola team). Tom Fletcher is doing his PhD thesis funded by Wellcome Trust about pathogenesis of CCHF especially role of cytokins and thrombocyte functions I am the external observer for his thesis. The duration of thesis is three years. Also have collaboration with Dr. Gary Cobinger from University of Laval Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Quebec, Canadia on Canadian Institutes of Health Research project entitled “Development of an animal model, a protective vaccine and monoclonal antibodies against Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus”.

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Ondokuz Mayis University has a bird ringing station in Kizilirmak Delta, Samsun Turkey, It was launched on 22 March 2002 under the auspices of the SE European Bird Migration Network (SEEN). We trapping, ringing and sampling of birds and collect ticks if present and conduct research projects

on birds known to be involved in life-cycle certain arboviruses. We have detected CCHF virus in Hyalomma and Ixodes nymphs on migratory birds in the Kizilirmak delta, a wetland hosting great numbers of migratory birds, suggesting a potential role of migratory birds in carrying and spreading CCHF virus harboring ticks. I served as the primary investigator or co-investigator in all of these studies.

 

As a honorary chair  of European Society of Clinical Microbiology (ESCMID) Study Group for Infections in Travellers and Migrants; we have close collaboration with Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-)emerging Epidemics (PREPARE) and organized the Arbovirus workshop

as held in Thessaloniki, Greece on 7-9 March 2016.