A serological survey of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in animals in the Sharkia Governorate of Egypt.

A surveillance survey was conducted over a period of 12 months between September 2004 and August 2005 by the Tropical Medicine Department of Zagazig University in collaboration with Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3), Egypt, to evaluate the role of ruminants as a reservoir host for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV). A total of 1,022 serum samples from 313 cattle, 264 water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), 270 sheep and 175 goats were included in the survey. All samples were collected from the Sharkia Governorate of Egypt and were examined for anti-CCHFV IgG. Of the total of 1,022 samples examined, 32 (3.13%) were positive to IgG ELISA. Out of 270 sheep examined, 17 (6.30%) were confirmed to have anti-CCHFV IgG with the highest titre recorded at 1:800. However, CCHFV-specific IgG-positive cases among the cattle, buffalo and goats were 3.83%, 0.38% and 1.14%, respectively. Positive cases in age group B (>or=2 years old) were significantly higher (p<0.001) than those in age group A (<2 years old) (5.7% versus 1.6%). Belbis City was found to have the highest number of positive cases compared to all other localities (p<0.001).