Fafetine José, Cuinhane Teresa, Sadeghi Balal, Miambo Regina D, de Araújo Lucinda, Groschup Martin H, Schulz Ansgar
Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), Maputo, Mozambique.
Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), Maputo, Mozambique.
Virol J. 2025 Jun 6;22(1):185. doi: 10.1186/s12985-025-02804-9.
Arboviruses pose a great threat to public health in sub-Saharan African countries. Mozambique is located in a region that is prone to climate change-related devastation, including heavy rainfalls and severe droughts that favor the emergence of zoonotic viruses transmitted by arthropods such as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (Orthonairovirus haemorrhagiae, CCHFV) and Rift Valley fever virus (Phlebovirus riftense, RVFV). Both viruses are closely associated with livestock farming, including cattle, and can cause symptoms of hemorrhagic fever in humans. Available previous data sets related to the presence of RVFV and especially CCHFV in Mozambique are rather scarce. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the recent seroprevalence of both viruses in cattle in four localities of Limpopo National Park. In addition, ticks were collected and tested for the presence of different arboviruses.
A total of 460 cattle blood samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of CCHFV and RVFV antibodies using ID Screen CCHF Double Antigen Multi-species (IgM/IgG) and ID Screen Rift Valley Fever Competition Multi-species commercial ELISA test kits (IDvet, Grabels, France), respectively. 1176 ticks were collected from the same animals and analyzed with different RT-qPCRs assays for CCHFV, Nairobi sheep disease virus (Orthonairovirus nairobiense, NSDV) virus and Dugbe virus (Orthonairovirus dugbeense, DUGV). Selected ticks were further screened by using a pan-Flavivirus melting curve PCR.
The overall seroprevalence was higher for CCHFV (50%) compared to RVFV (28%). While a significant difference in seroprevalence between age groups was only found for CCHFV, there was a difference in RVFV seroprevalence between sampling sites that was not observed for CCHFV. None of the viruses tested were found inside the ticks.
This study revealed the presence of anti-CCHFV and anti-RVFV antibodies in cattle from all four sampled localities suggesting that both viruses are circulating in cattle and may be an important cause of unidentified febrile illness in humans in the region.
虫媒病毒对撒哈拉以南非洲国家的公共卫生构成巨大威胁。莫桑比克位于一个容易遭受与气候变化相关破坏的地区，包括暴雨和严重干旱，这有利于通过节肢动物传播的人畜共患病毒的出现，如克里米亚-刚果出血热病毒（正纳罗病毒属出血热病毒，CCHFV）和裂谷热病毒（白蛉病毒属里夫特病毒，RVFV）。这两种病毒都与包括牛在内的畜牧业密切相关，并且可在人类中引起出血热症状。莫桑比克以前关于RVFV尤其是CCHFV存在情况的可用数据集相当稀少。因此，本研究的目的是评估林波波国家公园四个地区牛群中这两种病毒的近期血清阳性率。此外，还采集了蜱虫并检测其中是否存在不同的虫媒病毒。
共采集了460份牛血样本，分别使用ID Screen CCHF双抗原多物种（IgM/IgG）和ID Screen裂谷热竞争多物种商业ELISA检测试剂盒（IDvet，法国格拉贝）分析CCHFV和RVFV抗体的存在情况。从同一批动物身上采集了1176只蜱虫，并用不同的逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）检测CCHFV、内罗毕羊病病毒（正纳罗病毒属内罗毕病毒，NSDV）和杜贝病毒（正纳罗病毒属杜贝病毒，DUGV）。对选定的蜱虫进一步使用泛黄病毒熔解曲线PCR进行筛查。
CCHFV的总体血清阳性率（50%）高于RVFV（28%）。虽然仅在CCHFV的年龄组之间发现血清阳性率存在显著差异，但RVFV血清阳性率在采样地点之间存在差异，而CCHFV未观察到这种差异。在所检测的蜱虫中均未发现这些病毒。
本研究揭示了所有四个采样地区的牛群中均存在抗CCHFV和抗RVFV抗体，这表明这两种病毒在牛群中传播，并且可能是该地区人类不明发热疾病的重要病因。
