TEHRAN- The prevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the country has reduced to half, said the Director of Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health. 

According to Mohammad Mahdi Guya, since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), 12 people have been diagnosed with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, while 25 cases were reported in the same period last year. 

Two of the 12 people died and the rest were thoroughly cured, IRIB quoted Guya as saying on Sunday.  

The disease was spotted in the cities of Iranshahr, Zabol, Kermanshah and Bandarabbas as well as Gilan province, Guya said.  

Annually, some 100 to 150 cases of Crimean-Congo fever are reported in Iran.

In July, MP Mohammad Javad Jamali said that smuggled livestock which enter the country from eastern borders is one of the main reasons behind Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

According to World Health Organization, the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

CCHF outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 40%.

The virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.

SJ/MQ/MG