article · Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Rift Valley fever is a zoonotic viral disease capable of causing severe periodic outbreaks in both humans and livestock. Prior to this investigation, documented evidence regarding its occurrence in domestic animals within the Democratic Republic of the Congo remained scarce. Blood samples from 450 cattle across the North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces were examined using serological tests and molecular analysis to evaluate virus circulation. Overall, anti-Rift Valley fever virus IgG antibodies were identified in 6.22 per cent of cattle, with the highest seroprevalence found in North Kivu at 12.67 per cent, followed by Ituri at 6 per cent, whereas South Kivu had no positive cases. Recent exposure indicated by IgM antibodies was observed in 1.8 per cent of animals, though viral RNA was not detected. These results confirm wide distribution in the eastern region, despite unknown local epidemiological drivers.
Rift Valley fever poses major risks to both animal welfare and human public health due to its zoonotic nature. Establishing the presence and geographic distribution of the virus in cattle in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo helps veterinary and public health authorities identify regional disease hotspots, allocate surveillance resources, and plan targeted prevention strategies to mitigate potential outbreak risks in vulnerable farming communities.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
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.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1155/2018/4956378
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
