Therapeutic Intervention of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: A Tick-Borne Viral Illness
Abstract
Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne, highly contagious, viral illness with high mortality rates in humans. Both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization reported 40% fatality rate in CCHFV-infected patients. The illness is geographically widespread across Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Turkey is currently the epicenter for CCHFV activity. Annually, more than 1,000 cases of CCHFV infection are reported in Turkey alone. There is no treatment for this viral disease at present. CCHF virus spreads to humans either by tick bites or through contact with viraemic animal tissues. The wild and domestic animals serve as amplifying hosts for this virus, especially in warm summer months when tick population is on the rise. CCHFV infection causes global health problems due to the lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine and effective therapeutic agents for both humans and animals. CCHFV outbreaks pose a significant threat to public health because of its epidemic potential, high case fatality rate, potential for nosocomial outbreaks, and the difficulties in the treatment and prevention. The tick-livestock-human-to-human transmission cycle is concerning, especially due to global warming that favors tick growth. There is an urgent need for the development of antiviral therapeutic for both animals and humans. Our preliminary studies demonstrate that stalk domain of CCHFV nucleocapsid protein is a novel target for therapeutic intervention of CCHFV illness. This grant application is focused to use a high throughput screening approach for the identification of chemical inhibitors targeted against the stalk domain of CCHFV nucleocapsid protein. The inhibitors will interfere at multiple stages of virus replication cycle and shutdown CCHFV replication in the host cell. This application has direct relevance and impact on public health and the healthcare needs of military Service members employed at geographical regions pandemic to CCHFV disease.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2010279
Entities
People
- Mohammad Mir
Organizations
- United States Army
- Western University of Health Sciences