Serological and molecular study of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in cattle from selected districts in Uganda

Stephen Balinandi; Claudia von Brömssen; Alex Tumusiime; Jackson Kyondo; Hyesoo Kwon; Vanessa M Monteil; Ali Mirazimi; Julius Lutwama; Lawrence Mugisha; Maja Malmberg

doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114075

Serological and molecular study of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in cattle from selected districts in Uganda

J Virol Methods. 2021 Apr:290:114075. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114075. Epub 2021 Jan 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Uganda Virus Research Institute, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda; College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. Electronic address: sbalinandi@uvri.go.ug.
² Division of Applied Statistics and Mathematics, Department of Engergy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7013, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden. Electronic address: claudia.von.bromssen@slu.se.
³ Uganda Virus Research Institute, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda. Electronic address: tumusiimeug@yahoo.co.uk.
⁴ Uganda Virus Research Institute, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda. Electronic address: jacksonkyondo@gmail.com.
⁵ National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, 751 89, Sweden. Electronic address: hyesoo.kwon@sva.se.
⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska Hospital University, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden. Electronic address: vanessa.monteil@ki.se.
⁷ National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, 751 89, Sweden; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska Hospital University, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden; Public Health Agency of Sweden, Stockholm, 171 82, Sweden. Electronic address: ali.mirazimi@folkhalsomyndigheten.se.
⁸ Uganda Virus Research Institute, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda. Electronic address: jlutwama@uvri.go.ug.
⁹ College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda; Ecohealth Research Group, Conservation & Ecosystem Health Alliance (CEHA), Box 34153, Kampala, Uganda. Electronic address: lmugisha@covab.mak.ac.ug.
¹⁰ Section of Virology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7028, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden; SLU Global Bioinformatics Centre, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden. Electronic address: maja.malmberg@slu.se.

PMID: 33515661
DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114075

Abstract

Background: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a severe tick-borne viral hemorrhagic disease caused by Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) that poses serious public health challenges in many parts of Africa, Europe and Asia.

Methods: We examined 500 cattle sera samples from five districts for CCHFV antibodies using in-house and commercially available (IDVet) ELISA, Immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Results: 500 cattle (73.8 % females) were analyzed; CCHFV seropositivity was 12.6 % (n = 63) and 75.0 % (n = 375) with the in-house and IDVet ELISAs, respectively. Seropositivity was associated with geographical location, increasing age, being female, and having a higher tick burden. Twenty four out of the 37 (64.8 %) were seropositive for CCHFV using IFA and all were negative for virus on RT-PCR. The IFA results were more comparable to IDVet (κ_coefficient = 0.88, p = <0.01) than to in-house (κ_coefficient = 0.32, p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Our study confirmed the presence and high prevalence of anti-CCHF antibodies in cattle based on three methods from all the five study districts, confirming presence and exposure of CCHFV. Given the zoonotic potential for CCHFV, we recommend a multidisciplinary public health surveillance and epidemiology of CCHFV in both animals and humans throughout the country.

Keywords: Cattle; Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus; Immunofluorescent assay; Seroprevalence; Uganda.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antibodies, Viral
Cattle
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay*
Female
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo* / genetics
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo* / immunology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean* / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean* / veterinary
Male
Ticks*
Uganda / epidemiology

Substances

Antibodies, Viral