Deadly virus outbreaks tracked in Europe

Outbreaks of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Europe, a human tick-borne disease with a fatality rate of up to 30 %, are on the rise. Despite this, scientists have an extremely limited understanding of how CCHF virus migrates, with no proven therapies available and no preventative vaccine.

The aim of the EU-funded CCH FEVER (Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever; modern approaches to diagnostics, surveillance, prevention, therapy and preparedness) project was to develop effective tools to diagnose, control and prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease.

Scientists developed diagnostic tests and monitoring tools to predict the movement of CCHFV outbreaks in Europe and neighbouring countries over time. The project also developed potential new vaccines for CCHFV, and new methods to screen for new antivirals agents.

CCH FEVER successfully created a network of experts from Europe, Asia, USA and Africa from a previously narrow research field with limited research capacity. It also gathered global resources to build a biobank of clinical samples and a database of clinical, laboratory and surveillance data.

As CCHF is an emerging vector-borne disease with epidemic potential, the new knowledge generated by this project is of huge interest to public health. CCH FEVER could provide the tools needed by local and European public health authorities to prevent future outbreaks and monitor the spread of the virus.