Abstract
BackgroundBrucellosis, Q fever and Rift Valley fever are considered as Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZDs) leading to socioeconomic losses in livestock globally, and particularly in developing countries of Africa where they are under-reported. In this study, we evaluated the seroprevalence of these 3 zoonotic diseases in domestic ruminants in Guinea from 2017 to 2019. A total of 1357 sera, sampled from 463 cattle, 408 goats and 486 sheep, were collected in 17 Guinean prefectures and analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsCattle was the species with highest seroprevalence (5 to 20-fold higher than in small ruminants) for the three diseases. The seroprevalence of brucellosis, mostly focused in Western Guinea, was 11.0% (51 of 463) in cattle, 0.4% (2 in 486) in sheep while no specific antibodies were found in goats. Q fever, widespread across the country, was the most frequently detected zoonosis with a mean seroprevalence of 20.5% (95 in 463), 4.4% (18 in 408) and 2.3% (11 in 486) in cattle, goats and sheep, respectively. The mean seroprevalence of RVF was 16.4% (76 in 463) in cattle, 1.0% (4 in 408) in goats and 1.0% (5 in 486) in sheep. Among the samples 19.3% were seropositive for at least one of the three NZDs, 2.5% showed specific antibodies against at least two pathogens and 4 cattle (0.8%) were seropositive for all three pathogens. In cattle, adults over 3-years old and females presented a higher antibody seroprevalence for the three diseases, in congruence with putative exposure risk.ConclusionsThis study confirms the circulation of these three zoonotic pathogens in Guinea and highlights the need for implementing a syndromic surveillance of ruminant abortions by the Guinean veterinary authorities as well as for the screening of the human population at risk (veterinarians, breeders, slaughterers) in a One Health perspective.
Highlights
More than two-third of the newly emerging infectious agents affecting humans are zoonotic in origin [1]
The overall seroprevalence was significantly different between the three diseases: Brucella spp. is 3.9% (95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.9—5.1); Q fever is 9.1%, Rift Valley fever (RVF) is 6.3% (Table S2)
Seroprevalence of Rift Valley fever Antibodies to Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) were detected by cELISA in 76 cattle, 4 goats and 5 sheep, resulting in a mean seroprevalence of 16.4%, 1.0% and 1.0%, respectively (Fig. 2)
Summary
More than two-third of the newly emerging infectious agents affecting humans are zoonotic in origin [1]. Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZDs) such as brucellosis,. Q fever and Rift Valley fever (RVF) are under-diagnosed and under-reported in developing countries [2]. These three zoonoses cause abortions in cattle and small ruminants and can lead to important economic losses for the livestock husbandry worldwide and in Africa [3]. In Africa, and in the Sub-Saharan region, brucellosis is still endemic [6, 7] with a seroprevalence varying from 0 to 40% in human and livestock depending on the geographical location [8]. Brucellosis, Q fever and Rift Valley fever are considered as Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZDs) lead‐ ing to socioeconomic losses in livestock globally, and in developing countries of Africa where they are under-reported. A total of 1357 sera, sampled from 463 cattle, 408 goats and 486 sheep, were collected in 17 Guinean prefectures and analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
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