Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Survey in Humans, Ticks, and Livestock in Agnam (Northeastern Senegal) from February 2021 to March 2022

Abstract

Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is widespread in Asia, Europe, and Africa. In Senegal, sporadic cases of CCHFV have been reported since 1960. Bordering Mauritania in northeastern Senegal, Agnam is an arid area in the region of Matam where CCHFV is endemic, which harbors a pastoralist community. Given the drought conditions of Agnam, inhabitants are in constant movement with their animals in search of pasture, which brings them into contact with pathogens such as arboviruses. To identify CCHFV in this area, we established a One Health site in order to analyze animal livestock, ticks and human samples collected over a one-year period by qRT-PCR and ELISA. Our analysis showed one (1/364) patient carried anti-CCHFV IgM and thirty-seven carried anti-CCHFV IgG (37/364). In livestock, anti-CCHFV IgG was detected in 13 (38.24%) of 34 sentinel sheep. The risk of CCHFV infection increased significatively with age in humans (p-value = 0.00117) and sheep (p-value = 1.18 × 10−11). Additional risk factors for CCHFV infection in sheep were dry seasons (p-value = 0.004) and time of exposure (p-value = 0.007). Furthermore, we detected a total of three samples with CCHFV RNA within Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi and Rhipicephalus guilhoni tick species. Our results highlighted the usefulness of a One Health survey of CCHFV in pastoral communities at risk of arboviruses.

Human and Livestock Surveillance Revealed the Circulation of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Agnam, Northern Senegal, 2021

“…Every febrile patient who signed their consent was blood sampled in the Agnam Civol healthcare sentinel site between June 2021 and December 2021 as already described [ 18 ]. Blood samples were transiently conserved at +4 °C then transferred to the arbovirus and viral hemorrhagic fever virus unit at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar as part of the ongoing Syndromic Sentinel Surveillance network in Senegal (4S network) [ 19 ].…”

“…The presence of anti-RVFV immunoglobulin M (IgM) was tested in human sera with an in-house immunocapture Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) [ 18 ]. Goat anti-human IgM (Sera care, Milford, MA, USA) was diluted at 1/1000 in carbonate–bicarbonate buffer (0.015 M sodium carbonate, 0.035 M sodium bicarbonate, pH 9.6) as coating buffer.…”

“…For anti-RVFV IgG detection in human and animal sera, we used an indirect in-house Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test [ 18 ]. Plate wells were sensitized by adding 100 μL per well of 50 ng of RVF glycoprotein (Abcam) diluted in phosphate-buffered saline (phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, Gibco, Ph 7.4)) 1X and incubated overnight at 4 °C.…”

Investigating Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus seropositivity in camels and human behavioural risks in an abattoir in Nigeria

“…Of the 189 respondents, 184 (97%) were male, while five (2.6%) were female. The median age of respondents was 41 years (35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52). The marital status shows 145 (77%) were married, 38 (20%) were single, and only 1 (0.5%) was divorced.…”

Distinguishing host responses, extensive viral dissemination and long-term viral RNA persistence in domestic sheep experimentally infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus Kosovo Hoti

“…Field data on CCHFV infection in animals are primarily restricted to seroepidemiological surveys where CCHFV antibodies have been detected in a wide range of hosts, while the virus was isolated in a small number of cases [29,[34][35][36][37][38][39]. Like other large herbivores, domestic ruminants (sheep, cattle and goats) support and carry large numbers of infected ticks and exhibit a high prevalence of CCHFV antibodies [1,40].…”