Rift Valley Fever Virus and Yellow Fever Virus in Urine: A Potential Source of Infection.

Abstract

Yellow fever virus (YFV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) are important vector-borne pathogens, which all originated in Africa. Now both viruses spread globally and pose a wider threat to public health. Recent studies have shown that YFV was detected in serum and urine samples and viable YFV was isolated from urine samples. In contrast, RVFV has been detected in urine samples, but the isolation of variable virus has not been reported. Here, we report results from a comparative analysis of the detection window for YFV in patient sera and urine samples. Moreover, viable YFV and RVFV were isolated from clinical samples, verified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and sequencing. YFV persisted in urine until 32 days after disease onset, which was longer than other reports on natural YFV infections. Overall, our data demonstrated that urine may be considered as an alternative non-invasive source of samples for clinical detection of YFV, RVFV, and other vector-borne pathogens, which should improve diagnosis, help with surveillance efforts against the spread of emerging or re-emerging arboviruses, and reduce the risk of spreading viruses through the urine.