Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=146541&bolum=100
Blood serum: CCHF breakthrough
In a scientific victory against a disease spread by ticks that has turned into a nightmare for many, Turkish researchers have produced an anti-serum using blood samples from patients who developed immunity against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) following recovery.
Animal testing of the anti-serum has concluded successfully, and the anti-serum was administered to humans infected by the tick-spread virus this year. Even in severe cases, nine out of 10 patients recovered from the disease.
In an effort to collect more anti-serum developed at the Department of Hygiene (Hıfzısıhha), the Health Ministry dispatched medical teams to Sivas, Yozgat, Tokat, ?orum and other provinces with high numbers of CCHF cases. These teams of doctors will collect blood samples from those who developed immunity to the virus and take the samples to Ankara, where they will be used to produce antiserum.
Health Ministry Basic Health Services General Director Seracattin ?om spoke to Today?s Zaman about the antiserum, noting that they had been working on the formula since 2007 and that their success was the first of its kind developed against the virus. He explained that those people who contract CCHF but successfully recover develop antibodies against the virus. ?We collect blood samples from these patients and process their blood to produce hyper-immune globulin anti-serum. We administer this anti-serum to patients suffering from the disease,? he said.
?om indicated that they would exhaust anti-serum stocks in several months and would collect new blood samples, particularly from people in the Kelkit Valley, which is infested by ticks. ?We have records of the patients who have suffered from CCHF since 2002. We will conduct medical examinations and collect blood samples from suitable donors. I can?t say how much blood we?ll collect; we will try to amass a stock that will last for one year,? he said. ?om asserted that the serums are being successfully used in many cases. ?This year we?ve had 551 [CCHF] patients, but there were only 33 deaths,? he said.
04 July 2008, Friday
HASAN BOZKURT ANKARA
Blood serum: CCHF breakthrough
In a scientific victory against a disease spread by ticks that has turned into a nightmare for many, Turkish researchers have produced an anti-serum using blood samples from patients who developed immunity against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) following recovery.
Animal testing of the anti-serum has concluded successfully, and the anti-serum was administered to humans infected by the tick-spread virus this year. Even in severe cases, nine out of 10 patients recovered from the disease.
In an effort to collect more anti-serum developed at the Department of Hygiene (Hıfzısıhha), the Health Ministry dispatched medical teams to Sivas, Yozgat, Tokat, ?orum and other provinces with high numbers of CCHF cases. These teams of doctors will collect blood samples from those who developed immunity to the virus and take the samples to Ankara, where they will be used to produce antiserum.
Health Ministry Basic Health Services General Director Seracattin ?om spoke to Today?s Zaman about the antiserum, noting that they had been working on the formula since 2007 and that their success was the first of its kind developed against the virus. He explained that those people who contract CCHF but successfully recover develop antibodies against the virus. ?We collect blood samples from these patients and process their blood to produce hyper-immune globulin anti-serum. We administer this anti-serum to patients suffering from the disease,? he said.
?om indicated that they would exhaust anti-serum stocks in several months and would collect new blood samples, particularly from people in the Kelkit Valley, which is infested by ticks. ?We have records of the patients who have suffered from CCHF since 2002. We will conduct medical examinations and collect blood samples from suitable donors. I can?t say how much blood we?ll collect; we will try to amass a stock that will last for one year,? he said. ?om asserted that the serums are being successfully used in many cases. ?This year we?ve had 551 [CCHF] patients, but there were only 33 deaths,? he said.
04 July 2008, Friday
HASAN BOZKURT ANKARA