Abstract
Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), an arbovirus belonging to the Phlebovirus genus of the Phenuiviridae family, causes the zoonotic and mosquito-borne RVF. The virus, which primarily affects livestock (ruminants and camels) and humans, is at the origin of recent major outbreaks across the African continent (Mauritania, Libya, Sudan), and in the South-Western Indian Ocean (SWIO) islands (Mayotte). In order to be better prepared for upcoming outbreaks, to predict its introduction in RVFV unscathed countries, and to run efficient surveillance programmes, the priority is harmonising and improving the diagnostic capacity of endemic countries and/or countries considered to be at risk of RVF. A serological inter-laboratory proficiency test (PT) was implemented to assess the capacity of veterinary laboratories to detect antibodies against RVFV. A total of 18 laboratories in 13 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and the Indian Ocean participated in the initiative. Two commercial kits and two in-house serological assays for the detection of RVFV specific IgG antibodies were tested. Sixteen of the 18 participating laboratories (88.9%) used commercial kits, the analytical performance of test sensitivity and specificity based on the seroneutralisation test considered as the reference was 100%. The results obtained by the laboratories which used the in-house assay were correct in only one of the two criteria (either sensitivity or specificity). In conclusion, most of the laboratories performed well in detecting RVFV specific IgG antibodies and can therefore be considered to be prepared. Three laboratories in three countries need to improve their detection capacities. Our study demonstrates the importance of conducting regular proficiency tests to evaluate the level of preparedness of countries and of building a network of competent laboratories in terms of laboratory diagnosis to better face future emerging diseases in emergency conditions.
Highlights
Rift Valley fever (RVF), a zoonotic and mosquito-borne disease which primarily affects livestock and humans is caused by an arbovirus belonging to the Phlebovirus genus of the Phenuiviridae family [1]
Out of the 18 laboratories which participated in the proficiency test (PT), 14 used the commercially available ID Screen RVF competition multi-species ELISA kit (ID.Vet, France), two laboratories coded N 3, and N22 used the INgezim RVF Compac commercially available ELISA kit (Ingenasa, Spain), one laboratory with the coded panels N10, and N18 used both commercially available kits
Nineteen data sets were received from the 18 participating laboratories, as a double dataset was received from one laboratory with one dataset for both commercially available ELISA kits, N 10 and N18 (ID Screen and INgezim)
Summary
Rift Valley fever (RVF), a zoonotic and mosquito-borne disease which primarily affects livestock (ruminants and camels) and humans is caused by an arbovirus belonging to the Phlebovirus genus of the Phenuiviridae family [1]. The deployment of an early warning system adapted to countries at risk in order to avoid the introduction of the virus in a RVF free country or to better control the spread of the virus if the disease is already endemic in the country will require (i) creating an active surveillance system by sampling animal sentinel herds in the season when vector abundance is highest every year, (ii) updating prediction models, including climatic, meteorological and environmental parameters, (iii) implementing follow-up in the form of passive surveillance of animals and humans including recording irregular events (massive abortions in animals, high fever in humans)
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