SPREAD OF CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER IN THE SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI REGION

Abstract

The first case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Georgia was identified in 2009. Since 2013, there has been a significant increase in the incidence rate, which reached 1.32 cases per 100,000 population in 2022. The disease is unevenly distributed across the regions of Georgia. The highest incidence is observed in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, where the disease was first recorded in 2017. Since 2020, an extremely intense spread of this infection began in the region, peaking in 2022, when the incidence rate reached 28.3 cases per 100,000 population, which is 21.4 times higher than the national average incidence rate for the same year.

As in the rest of the country, within the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, the disease is also unevenly distributed. During the analysis period, only 1 case was recorded in the Javakheti area itself, whereas in the municipalities of Samtskhe - in Aspindza, Adigeni, and Akhaltsikhe - the average incidence rates were 37.7, 34.8, and 25.3 per 100,000 population, respectively.