Seroepidemiological survey on Rift Valley fever among small ruminants and their close human contacts in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 2011

Abstract

This study describes a seroepidemiological survey on Rift Valley fever (RVF) among small ruminants and their close human contacts in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. A total of 500 small ruminants (126 local, 374 imported) were randomly selected from the sacrifice livestock yards of Al-Kaakiah slaughterhouse, in the holy city of Makkah, during the Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 33 (3) 2 No. 22052014-00032-EN 2/26 pilgrimage season 1432 H (4-9 November 2011). In addition, blood samples were collected from 100 local workers in close contact with the animals at the slaughterhouse. An RVF competition multi-species enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detecting anti-RVF virus immunoglobulin G (IgG)/immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies and an RVF IgM-specific ELISA were used for serological investigations. In total, 84 (16.8%) of the 500 sacrificial sheep and goats tested seropositive in the competition ELISA but no IgM antibodies were detected in the IgM-specific assay. All seropositive samples, comprising 17.91% of the imported animals and 13.49% of the local ones, were therefore designated positive for anti-RVF virus IgG antibody. Among the local personnel working in close contact with the animals, 9% tested seropositive in the RVF competition ELISA. The study indicates that two factors may increase the likelihood of an RVF outbreak among sacrificial animals and pilgrims: i) the large-scale importation of small ruminants into Saudi Arabia from the Horn of Africa shortly before the pilgrimage season, and ii) the movement of animals within Saudi Arabia, from the RVFendemic southwestern area (Jizan region) to the Makkah region, particularly in the few weeks before the pilgrimage season. From these findings, it is recommended that i) all regulations concerning the import of animals into Saudi Arabia from Africa should be rigorously applied, particularly the RVF vaccination of all ruminants destined for export at least two weeks before exportation, and ii) the movement of animals from the RVF-endemic southwestern area (Jizan region) of Saudi Arabia to the Makkah region should be strictly prohibited.

Seroprevalence of Sheep and Goat Pox, Peste Des Petits Ruminants and Rift Valley Fever in Saudi Arabia

“…This represented a significant decline in small ruminants that were exposed to the virus. However, this decline may also be due to methodology, as a 2011 RVFV survey of 500 ruminants in a Mecca slaughterhouse showed that over 16% of sacrificial sheep and goats were seropositive using competitive ELISA [ 37 ].…”

Association of Rift Valley fever virus infection with miscarriage in Sudanese women: a cross-sectional study

“…In a recent study, 9·4% of camels in Khartoum State, Sudan, sampled during 2014-15 had had a Rift Valley fever virus infection as measured by IgG antibodies. 28 Furthermore, the main export market for Sudanese livestock is Saudi Arabia, just across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, 29 30 This fi nding indicates that Rift Valley fever virus could have been circulating among livestock in the Port Sudan region during the study period. Both Rift Valley fever virus and chikungunya virus are transmitted by mosquitoes, which increase in numbers during the warm periods that follow after heavy rainfall.…”

Assessment of past Rift Valley fever outbreak using Modeling, Risk analysis and decision tree in Sudan

“…In Kenya and Somalia, RVF caused 478 human deaths in 1997 (14). In 2000, RVF outbreak was con rmed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen with 882 con rmed cases and 124 deaths (11). In the Sudan, serological evidence of RVF was reported in 1936 which revealed 6.7% of 164 human sera by using precipitating antibodies (7).…”