Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 27, Number 12—December 2021
Dispatch

Rift Valley Fever Virus Seroprevalence among Humans, Northern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, 2018–2019

Janusz T. PawęskaComments to Author , Veerle Msimang, Joe Kgaladi, Orienka Hellferscee, Jacqueline Weyer, and Petrus Jansen van Vuren
Author affiliations: National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa (J.T. Pawęska, V. Msimang, J. Kgaladi, O. Hellferscee, J. Weyer, P. Jansen van Vuren); University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa (J.T. Pawęska, J. Weyer); Rand Water, Vereeniging, South Africa (J. Kgaladi); Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, CSIRO-Health and Biosecurity, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (P. Jansen van Vuren)

Main Article

Table 1

Rift Valley fever virus IgG and IgM seropositivity in survey participants by healthcare facility and uMkhanyakude district, northern Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, 2018–2019

Healthcare facility No. tested No. (%) seropositive* No. (%) IgG positive† No. (%) IgM positive‡
Mbazwana 185 8 (4.3) 7 (3.8) 1 (0.5)
Ndumo-Mosvold 377 16 (4.2) 14 (3.7) 7 (1.9)
Bethesda 178 5 (2.8) 5 (2.8) 1 (0.6)
Manguzi-Mahlungulu 207 5 (2.4) 5 (2.4) 1 (0.5)
Mseleni 178 4 (2.3) 4 (2.3) 1 (0.6)
Makhathini 270 1 (0.4) 1 (0.4) 0
Total 1,395 39 (2.8) 36 (2.6) 11 (0.8)

*Serum tested by an inhibition ELISA with 99.47% diagnostic sensitivity, 99.66% diagnostic specificity. This assay measures total Rift Valley fever virus antibody but does not discriminate between IgG and IgM (12). †Serum tested by an IgG-sandwich ELISA with 100% diagnostic sensitivity, 99.95% diagnostic specificity (13). ‡Serum tested by an IgM-capture ELISA with 96.47% diagnostic sensitivity, 99.44% diagnostic specificity (13).

Main Article

References
  1. Pawęska  JT, Jansen van Vuren  P. Rift Valley fever: a virus with potential for global emergence. In: Johnson N, editor. The role of animals in emerging viral diseases. London: Elsevier Academic Press; 2013. p. 169–200.
  2. Joubert  JD, Ferguson  AL, Gear  J. Rift Valley fever in South Africa: 2. The occurrence of human cases in the Orange Free State, the north-western Cape province, the western and southern Transvaal. A Epidemiological and clinical findings. S Afr Med J. 1951;25:890–1.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. McIntosh  BM, Russell  D, dos Santos  I, Gear  JH. Rift Valley fever in humans in South Africa. S Afr Med J. 1980;58:803–6.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Archer  BN, Thomas  J, Weyer  J, Cengimbo  A, Landoh  DE, Jacobs  C, et al. Epidemiologic investigations into outbreaks of Rift Valley fever in humans, South Africa, 2008–2011. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:1918–25. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Jansen van Vuren  P, Kgaladi  J, Msimang  V, Pawęska  JT. Rift Valley fever reemergence after 7 years of quiescence, South Africa, May 2018. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25:338–41. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Swanepoel  R, Coetzer  JAW. Rift Valley fever. In: Coetzer JAW, Thomson GR, Tustin RC, editors. Infectious diseases of livestock with special reference to Southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press; 2004. p. 1, 688–717.
  7. Smithburn  KC, Kokernot  RH, Heymann  CS, Weinbren  MP, Zentkowsky  D. Neutralizing antibodies for certain viruses in the sera of human beings residing in Northern Natal. S Afr Med J. 1959;33:555–61.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. McIntosh  BM. Rift Valley fever. 1. Vector studies in the field. J S Afr Vet Med Assoc. 1972;43:391–5.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. McIntosh  BM, Jupp  PG, dos Santos  I, Rowe  AC. Field and laboratory evidence implicating Culex zombaensis and Aedes circumluteolus as vectors of Rift Valley fever virus in coastal South Africa. S Afr J Sci. 1983;79:61–4.
  10. van den Bergh  C, Venter  EH, Swanepoel  R, Thompson  PN. High seroconversion rate to Rift Valley fever virus in cattle and goats in far northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the absence of reported outbreaks. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019;13:e0007296. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Van den Bergh  C, Venter  EH, Swanepoel  R, Hanekom  CC, Thompson  PN. Neutralizing antibodies against Rift Valley fever virus in wild antelope in far northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, indicate recent virus circulation. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2020;67:1356–63. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Pawęska  JT, Mortimer  E, Leman  PA, Swanepoel  R. An inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibody to Rift Valley fever virus in humans, domestic and wild ruminants. J Virol Methods. 2005;127:10–8. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Pawęska  JT, Burt  FJ, Swanepoel  R. Validation of IgG-sandwich and IgM-capture ELISA for the detection of antibody to Rift Valley fever virus in humans. J Virol Methods. 2005;124:173–81. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Drosten  C, Göttig  S, Schilling  S, Asper  M, Panning  M, Schmitz  H, et al. Rapid detection and quantification of RNA of Ebola and Marburg viruses, Lassa virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus by real-time reverse transcription-PCR. J Clin Microbiol. 2002;40:2323–30. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Msimang  V, Thompson  PN, Jansen van Vuren  P, Tempia  S, Cordel  C, Kgaladi  J, et al. Rift Valley fever virus exposure amongst farmers, farm workers, and veterinary professionals in central South Africa. Viruses. 2019;11:140. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: October 06, 2021
Page updated: November 19, 2021
Page reviewed: November 19, 2021
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external