CGPH FACULTY:Desiree LaBeaud
DATE OF PUBLICATION:August 2011
REGION: Africa
REFERENCE: “LaBeaud AD, Muiruri S, Sutherland LJ, Dahir S, Gildengorin Postepidemic analysis of Rift Valley fever virus transmission in northeastern kenya: a village cohort study. G, Morrill J, Muchiri EM, Peters CJ, King CH.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011 Aug;5(8):e1265. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001265. Epub 2011 Aug 16.”
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: In endemic areas, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a significant threat to both human and animal health. Goals of this study were to measure human anti-RVFV seroprevalence in a high-risk area following the 2006-2007 Kenyan Rift Valley Fever (RVF) epidemic, to identify risk factors for interval seroconversion, and to monitor individuals previously exposed to RVFV in order to document the persistence of their anti-RVFV antibodies. Our results highlight significant variability in RVFV exposure in two neighboring villages having very similar climate, terrain, and insect density. Among those with previous exposure, RVFV titers remained at > 1∶40 for more than 3 years. In concordance with previous studies, residents of the more rural village were more likely to be seropositive and RVFV seropositivity was associated with poor visual acuity. Raw milk consumption was strongly associated with RVFV exposure, which may represent an important new focus for public health education during future RVF outbreaks.
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