Fatal Nosocomial Spread of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever with Very Short Incubation Period

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne viral zoonosis with the potential of human-to-human transmission with case fatality rates from 3% to 50%. The incubation period depends on host, route of infection, and viral dose. Herein, we report a nosocomial spread of the disease in a hospital at Mashhad, northeastern Iran, with a very short incubation period for one of the secondary cases. The patient was a medical student who had a negligible contact with a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever patient during his admission to the hospital. The time interval between the contact and the onset of symptoms was merely 20 hours. Unfortunately, he died within 1 week of exposure.