Frequency of cases of Argentine Hemorrhagic Fever in the province of Santa Fe between the years 2018 to 2022

Introduction: Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a zoonotic disease, caused by the Junin virus, whose reservoir is Calomys musculinus. It produces an acute febrile syndrome with hemorrhagic, renal and neurological manifestations. It is endemic in a specific area of Argentina, in the provinces of Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa and Córdoba. After the introduction of the Candid#1 vaccine, its incidence decreased. Aim: To identify the frequency of HAF cases in the province of Santa Fe during the 5-year period between 2018 and 2022. Materials and methods: Quantitative, observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive design, carried out in the Epidemiology Department of the Province of Santa Fe. The population consisted of reported cases corresponding to patients between 0 and 88 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of HAF by molecular methods (PCR) or IgG seroconversion (ELISA) according to the national diagnostic algorithm, between January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. Variables were summarized through measures of central position (mean) and measures of dispersion (range and standard deviation) and expressed as absolute and relative frequency. Results: A total of 1103 cases with criteria of suspected case of HAF were analyzed, of which 79 were confirmed as positive, by diagnostic methods. Of these, 61% were male and 39% female. The mean age was 39.34 years (± 15.88 years). The frequency of confirmed HAF cases reported per year was 9 cases in 2018, 15 cases in 2019, 24 cases in 2020, 10 cases in 2021 and 21 cases in 2022. Thirty-four percent of cases occurred in both fall and winter, while 25% of cases occurred in summer, and 6% in spring. Conclusions: The frequency of confirmed cases of HAF relative to the total number of reported suspected cases was 7.2%. The majority were males with an average age of 39 years. Variations in the frequency of confirmed cases were identified, manifesting with year-to-year fluctuations predominantly in 2020 and 2022. No exponential increase in the incidence of the disease was observed in the period studied. The departments with the highest number of reported cases were Rosario and Constitución, with a predominance of cases in autumn and winter.