Investigation of Rift Valley Fever Virus Infection Serologically and Pathologically in Aborted Cattle, Sheep, Goats and in Fetuses

In this study, Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) infection was searched serologically and pathologically in cattle (178 Holstein), sheep (160 native), goats (66 ordinary goats, 98 Honamli goats, 16 Saanen goats) with an abortion history and in unborn cattle (8), sheep (24) and goat (5) fetus. Samples were collected between July 2009 and September 2010. As a result of studying specific antibodies to RVFV by using the c-ELISA method in blood serum samples collected from cattle, sheep and goats suffering abortion, seropositivity was identified in 7 cattle (7/178; 3.93%), 4 sheep (4/160;2.50%) and 18 goats (18/180;10.0%). 18 seropositive goats were distributed according to race as 13 ordinary goats (19.70%), 2 Honamli goats (2.04%) and 3 Saanen goats (18.75%). When liver, spleen and brain samples of the unborn fetus of cattle, sheep and goats were studied histopathologically, no pathological findings on RVFV disease were obtained. Consequently, in this study, where RVFV infection in cattle, sheep and goats raised in Western Mediterranean Region of Turkey was serologically revealed, it was concluded that RVFV did not take place in the aetiology of abortion cases in relevant species.

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Seroprevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in sheep and goats in Zambézia, Mozambique

Infection Ecology & Epidemiology ◽

10.3402/iee.v6.31343 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 31343 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Anne-Lie Blomström ◽

Isabelle Scharin ◽

Hedvig Stenberg ◽

Jaquline Figueiredo ◽

Ofélia Nhambirre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rift Valley ◽

Rift Valley Fever ◽

Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Valley Fever ◽

Sheep And Goats

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Serological Evidence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Circulation in Sheep and Goats in Zambézia Province, Mozambique

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0002065 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. e2065 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

José Fafetine ◽

Luis Neves ◽

Peter N. Thompson ◽

Janusz T. Paweska ◽

Victor P. M. G. Rutten ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rift Valley ◽

Rift Valley Fever ◽

Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Serological Evidence ◽

Valley Fever ◽

Sheep And Goats

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Epidemiological study of Rift Valley fever virus in Kigoma, Tanzania

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research ◽

10.4102/ojvr.v81i2.717 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 81 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Emmanuel G. Kifaro ◽

Japhet Nkangaga ◽

Gradson Joshua ◽

Raphael Sallu ◽

Mmeta Yongolo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Reverse Transcriptase ◽

Rift Valley ◽

Rift Valley Fever ◽

Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Valley Fever ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

Polymerase Chain

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an acute, zoonotic viral disease caused by a Phlebovirus, which belongs to the Bunyaviridae family. Among livestock, outbreaks of the disease are economically devastating. They are often characterised by large, sweeping abortion storms and have significant mortality in adult livestock. The aim of the current study was to investigate RVFV infection in the Kigoma region, which is nestled under the hills of the western arm of the Great Rift Valley on the edge of Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania. A region-wide serosurvey was conducted on non-vaccinated small ruminants (sheep and goats, n = 411). Sera samples were tested for the presence of anti-RVFV antibodies and viral antigen, using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The overall past infections were detected in 22 of the 411 animals, 5.4% (Confidence Interval (CI) 95% = 3.5% – 8.1%). The Kigoma rural area recorded the higher seroprevalence of 12.0% (CI 95% = 7.3% – 18.3%; p < 0.0001), followed by Kibondo at 2.3% (CI 95% = 0.5% – 6.5%; p > 0.05) and the Kasulu district at 0.8% (CI 95% = 0.0% – 4.2%; p > 0.05). The prevalence was 12.5% and 4.7% for sheep and goats, respectively. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction results indicated that only eight samples were found to be positive (n = 63). This study has confirmed, for the first time, the presence of the RVFV in the Kigoma region four years after the 2007 epizootic in Tanzania. The study further suggests that the virus activity exists during the inter-epizootic period, even in regions with no history of RVFV.

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Serological and genomic evidence of Rift Valley fever virus during inter-epidemic periods in Mauritania

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268816003022 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 145 (5) ◽

pp. 1058-1068 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. RISSMANN ◽

M. EIDEN ◽

B. O. EL MAMY ◽

K. ISSELMOU ◽

B. DOUMBIA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rift Valley ◽

Rift Valley Fever ◽

Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽

Simultaneous Detection ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Valley Fever ◽

Epidemic Period ◽

And Shifts

SUMMARYRift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an emerging pathogen of major concern throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, affecting both livestock and humans. In the past recurrent epidemics were reported in Mauritania and studies focused on the analysis of samples from affected populations during acute outbreaks. To verify characteristics and presence of RVFV during non-epidemic periods we implemented a multi-stage serological and molecular analysis. Serum samples of small ruminants, cattle and camels were obtained from Mauritania during an inter-epidemic period in 2012–2013. This paper presents a comparative analysis of potential variations and shifts of antibody presence and the capability of inter-epidemic infections in Mauritanian livestock. We observed distinct serological differences between tested species (seroprevalence: small ruminants 3·8%, cattle 15·4%, camels 32·0%). In one single bovine from Nouakchott, a recent RVF infection could be identified by the simultaneous detection of IgM antibodies and viral RNA. This study indicates the occurrence of a low-level enzootic RVFV circulation in livestock in Mauritania. Moreover, results indicate that small ruminants can preferably act as sentinels for RVF surveillance.

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Co-circulation of Orthobunyaviruses and Rift Valley Fever Virus in Mauritania, 2015

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2021.766977 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Nicole Cichon ◽

Yahya Barry ◽

Franziska Stoek ◽

Abdellah Diambar ◽

Aliou Ba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rift Valley ◽

High Performance ◽

Rift Valley Fever ◽

Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Hemorrhagic Fever ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Fever Virus ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Valley Fever

Ngari virus (NRIV) has been mostly detected during concurrent outbreaks of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). NRIV is grouped in the genus Orthobunyavirus within the Bunyaviridae family and RVFV in the genus Phlebovirus in the family Phenuiviridae. Both are zoonotic arboviruses and can induce hemorrhagic fever displaying the same clinical picture in humans and small ruminants. To investigate if NRIV and its parental viruses, Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) and Batai virus (BATV), played a role during the Mauritanian RVF outbreak in 2015/16, we analyzed serum samples of sheep and goats from central and southern regions in Mauritania by quantitative real-time RT-PCR, serum neutralization test (SNT) and ELISA. 41 of 458 samples exhibited neutralizing reactivity against NRIV, nine against BATV and three against BUNV. Moreover, complete virus genomes from BUNV could be recovered from two sheep as well as two NRIV isolates from a goat and a sheep. No RVFV-derived viral RNA was detected, but 81 seropositive animals including 22 IgM-positive individuals were found. Of these specimens, 61 samples revealed antibodies against RVFV and at least against one of the three orthobunyaviruses. An indirect ELISA based on NRIV/BATV and BUNV derived Gc protein was established as complement to SNT, which showed high performance regarding NRIV, but decreased sensitivity and specificity regarding BATV and BUNV. Moreover, we observed high cross-reactivity among NRIV and BATV serological assays. Taken together, the data indicate the co-circulation of at least BUNV and NRIV in the Mauritanian sheep and goat populations.

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