Rift valley fever virus infection among livestock handlers in Ibadan, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Livestock handlers are occupationally exposed to Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) because of frequent and longer contact with mosquito vectors, animal blood and other tissues. We determined the seroprevalence of RVF virus infection among livestock handlers in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Blood samples were collected from 265 workers in two major livestock markets and a livestock farm. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information on risk factors that may be associated with RVF virus transmission. The blood samples were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to detect multispecies anti-RVF virus IgG/IgM and human anti-RVF virus IgM.

In total, 14 (5.3%) of the 265 participants tested positive for anti-RVFV IgG. Seropositive individuals were more among livestock keepers (5.6%) than butchers (3.6%). Workers that frequently visited the livestock rearing areas of the northern part of Nigeria had a statistically significant (P = 0.004) higher rate of infection compared to those that did not. Very few (0.8%) of these workers knew about RVF virus while none had been vaccinated against the virus infection.

This study indicates that RVF virus continues to circulate sub-clinically in Nigeria, thus the need to educate and vaccinate individuals who are occupationally at risk of infection.

KEYWORDS:

• Rift valley fever virus
• livestock handlers
• seroprevalence
• ELISA
• Ibadan
• Nigeria

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Mr., L.N Uche, Mr. C.A Adedigba, and Mrs. B. Shoremekun for their immense assistance during sample collection.

Conflict of interests

No conflict of interests is declared.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Medical Education Partnership Initiative in Nigeria (MEPIN) project funded by Fogarty International Center, the Office of AIDS Research, and the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institute of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator [Grant number R24TW008878]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding organizations.