Is ribavirin prophylaxis effective for nosocomial transmission of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever?

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral zoonotic disease that is transmitted primarily through contact with ticks. Nosocomial cases and outbreaks of CCHF have been reported from many countries. Health care workers (HCWs) are at risk of exposure to CCHF. In our study, we evaluated seven HCWs' exposure to confirmed CCHF patients' infected blood and body fluids and prophylactic efficacy of the ribavirin on nosocomial transmission of CCHF retrospectively. Between 2007 and 2013, 150 CCHF cases were admitted to our clinic. During the follow-up of these patients, four doctors and three nurses had contact with infected blood and body fluids through needle stick injury, contact of skin and mucosal surfaces, and probable aerosolization. All of the index cases' diagnoses of CCHF were confirmed during the contact. Ribavirin prophylaxis was administered within 0.5-1 h in six out of seven cases. All of these cases' CCHF virus PCR results were negative. One physician had no contact with infected blood or body fluid, so ribavirin prophylaxis was not administered. The physician developed CCHF and diagnosis was confirmed. Although efficacy of ribavirin for prophylaxis is not clear and very few data exist on prophylactic usage of ribavirin, lack of clinical manifestations in our cases that were given ribavirin compared with the developed clinical manifestations in the physician may be explained by the prophylactic efficacy of the ribavirin.