Seroprevalence and Virus Activity of Rift Valley Fever in Cattle in Eastern Region of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Tshilenge M Georges,Rweyemamu Mark,Masumu Justin,Kayembe Jean Marie,Mbao Victor,Mulumba Mfumu K Léopold

doi:10.1155/2018/4956378

Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease that is characterized by periodic and severe outbreaks in humans and animals. Published information on the occurrence of RVF in domestic animals is very scarce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). To assess possible circulation of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in cattle in the eastern province of DRC, 450 sera collected from cattle in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces were analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for the detection of viral Immunoglobulin (Ig) G and M, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), for detection of viral RVF RNA. A cumulative anti-RVF IgG prevalence of 6.22% (95% CI 4.25–8.97) was recorded from the three provinces sampled. In North Kivu and Ituri provinces the anti-RVF IgG prevalence was 12.67% [95% CI 7.80–19.07] and 6% [95% CI 2.78–11.08], respectively, while all the sera collected from South Kivu province were negative for anti-RVF IgG antibodies. Anti-RVF IgM prevalence of 1.8% was obtained among sampled animals in the three provinces. None of the positive anti-RVF IgM samples (n=8) was positive for viral RVFV RNA using RT-PCR. Our findings suggest that RVFV is widely distributed among cattle in eastern province of DRC particularly in North Kivu and Ituri provinces although the epidemiological factors supporting this virus circulation remain unknown in these areas.

Highlights

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a vector-borne single stranded zoonotic virus that infects humans and a wide range of vertebrate hosts including cattle, small ruminants, camels, and wildlife species
An anti-RVF IgG antibodies prevalence of 12.67% and 6% were calculated for North Kivu and Ituri provinces, respectively
None of the sera collected in South Kivu was positive for anti-RVF IgG antibodies

Summary

Introduction

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a vector-borne single stranded zoonotic virus that infects humans and a wide range of vertebrate hosts including cattle, small ruminants, camels, and wildlife species. RVFV is mainly transmitted among livestock through mosquito bites vertical transmission between animals is reported [5, 6]. In livestock and wild animals, infections with RVFV cause significant morbidity and mortality from 10% to 30% [7]. The Rift Valley fever (RVF) infection varies greatly in severity. A typical sign of RVFV infected pregnant cows and sheep is abortion. Abortion is often the only obvious indication of infection with the virus [8].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion