Factors related to fatalities and clinical progression of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever patients and the effects of IL 28-B gene polymorphism

Mortality rates of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) vary from 5% to 80%. However, there is no clear information available about why this disease is fatal for some people while others recover. In this study, the factors related to fatalities and serious clinical progression of CCHF patients and the correlation between serious prognosis and IL 28-B gene polymorphism were investigated. The study included 107 patients with a preliminary diagnosis of CCHF, and the patients were found positive for CCHFV RNA based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. The IL 28-B rs12979860 polymorphism was identified by PCR “restriction fragment length polymorphism” (PCR-RFLP) analysis using blood samples from the patients. In addition to the IL 28-B analysis results, a variety of data along with laboratory records obtained during the hospital stay were evaluated using statistical analysis. Of the 107 cases, nine were fatal (8.4%), while the other patients recovered and were discharged. Twenty-four patients had the CC genotype (22.43%), 64 had the CT genotype (59.81%), and 19 had the TT genotype (17.76%). Of the nine patients who died, three had the CC genotype (33.33%) and six had the CT genotype (66.67%). None of the patients who died had the TT genotype. Symptoms and findings of diarrhea, abdominal pain, hemorrhage, and rash were more common in fatal cases than in non-fatal cases. The IL 28-B rs12979860 polymorphism was not found to have a statistically significant correlation with fatality or symptoms indicating serious clinical progression in CCHF patients. As has been observed in previous studies, our study showed that leukocytosis, abdominal pain and diarrhea were more common in fatal cases.