Seroprevalence of Rift Valley Fever and West Nile Fever in Cattle in Gambella Region, South West Ethiopia

• Main Authors: Asebe G, Mamo G, Michlmayr D, Abegaz WE, Endale A, Medhin G, Larrick JW, Legesse M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-11-01
• Series: Veterinary Medicine : Research and Reports
• Subjects: serology; elisa; antibody; abortion; sera; ethiopia
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/seroprevalence-of-rift-valley-fever-and-west-nile-fever-in-cattle-in-g-peer-reviewed-article-VMRR

Getahun Asebe,1,2 Gezahegne Mamo,1 Daniela Michlmayr,3 Woldaregay Erku Abegaz,4 Adugna Endale,5,6 Girmay Medhin,5 James W Larrick,7 Mengistu Legesse5 1Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Immunology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Bishoftu, Ethiopia; 2College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gambella University, Gambella, Ethiopia; 3Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; 4Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 5Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 6School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia; 7Panorama Research Institute, Sunnyvale, CA, USACorrespondence: Getahun Asebe Email [e-mail]: Rift Valley fever (RVF) and West Nile fever (WNF) are re-emerging mosquito-borne zoonotic diseases that cause public health and economic crises. Ethiopia shares borders with South Sudan and Kenya, where these diseases are often documented. The free movement of animals and humans across these borders expects to increase the spread of these diseases. The current study was conducted to assess the occurrence of these diseases in the Gambella region of Ethiopia.Methodology: We collected a total of 368 cattle serum samples from the Lare district on the border of South Sudan and measured the presence of IgG antibody against RVF and WNF virus infections using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).Results: The prevalence of anti-RVF virus IgG antibody was 7.6% (95% CI: 5.3– 10.82%), while that of anti-WNF virus IgG antibody was 5.4% (95% CI: 3.52– 8.29%). In this study higher seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to RVF virus infection was observed comparing to the WNF virus in cattle. There was no significant association between the prevalence and the cattle age, sex or sampled locations.Conclusion: The detection of IgG antibody to RVF and WNF virus infections in the Gambella region warrants further study of active case findings and the dynamics of transmission.Keywords: serology RVF; WNF; cattle; Gambella, Ethiopia