[An evaluation of the status of natural foci of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the Crimea].

Parasitological data, the results of virological and serological investigations of materials, collected in nature and during the study of the immune structure of the population and indicative of the circulation of CCHF, virus in the Crimea and the possibility of human infection, are presented. The data on the spontaneous CCHF virus infection of 4 tick species belonging to the genus Ixodes have been confirmed, and evidence on the participation of Dermacentor marginatus in this process obtained for the first time in this region. The study has revealed for the first time that, besides European brown hares, scilly shrews, common voles and field mice may contribute to the maintenance of the natural foci of this infection. The low activity of the Crimean focus of CCHF may be the result of the intensive use of land, the widely spread stall-feeding of cattle, as well as a sharp decrease in the number of hares on the territories of hunting preserves.