A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the degree of Master of Science. / The Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) of the National Institute for Virology has diagnosed a total of 158
cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) from the time that the disease was first
recognized in South Africa in 1981 up until the end of 2000. The virus has a propensity to cause
nosocomial infections, and consequently rapid diagnosis is important for the isolation of the patient
and the institution of barrier-nursing to protect medical staff and the community at large. Thus it is
essential that the SPU should have the latest diagnostic and research tools available.
Diagnosis of CCHF is generally confirmed by isolation of the virus, detection of viral RNA
amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), demonstration of
seroconversion or a >4-fold increase in IgG antibody titre, or detection of specific IgM antibody
activity. Virus can be isolated in 1-6 days in cell culture, but the method is less sensitive for the
isolation of low concentrations of virus than the use of suckling mice which, however, takes 7-9
days.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/20809 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Seleka, G. P. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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