Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Rift Valley fever in cattle and selected wildlife species at the livestock/wildlife interface areas of Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

• Published in: Onderstepoort journal of veterinary research 2020, Vol.87 (1), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Pfukenyi, Davies M., Tivapasi, Musavengana, Matope, Gift, Ndengu, Masimba, De Garine-Wichatitsky, Michel, Cetre-Sossah, Catherine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abortion; Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science; Anatomy & Morphology; Animal biology; Animals; Animals, Wild; Antelopes; Antibodies; Beef cattle; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Brucellosis; Buffaloes; Cattle; Cattle Diseases - epidemiology; Coccidioidomycosis; Conservation areas; Disease; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Enzymes; Female; Fever; Global positioning systems; GPS; Infection; Life Sciences; Livestock; Male; Medical research; National parks; Original Research; Parks; Pharmacology & Pharmacy; Physiology; Population studies; Prevalence; Protection and preservation; Rift Valley fever; Rift Valley Fever - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Rural areas; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Seasons; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Studies; Ungulates; Veterinary medicine and animal Health; Veterinary Sciences; Wildlife; Zimbabwe - epidemiology; Zoonoses; Zoonosis
• ISSN: 0030-2465; 2219-0635; 2219-0635
• DOI: 10.4102/ojvr.v87i1.1731

A study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Rift Valley fever (RVF) infection in cattle and some selected wildlife species at selected interface areas at the periphery of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area in Zimbabwe. Three study sites were selected based on the type of livestock–wildlife interface: porous livestock–wildlife interface (unrestricted); non-porous livestock–wildlife interface (restricted by fencing) and livestock–wildlife non-interface (totally absent contact or control). Sera were collected from cattle aged ≥ 2 years representing both female and intact male. Sera were also collected from selected wild ungulates from Mabalauta (porous interface) and Chipinda Pools (non-interface) areas of the Gonarezhou National Park. Sera were tested for antibodies to Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. AX2 test was used to assess differences between categories, and p 0.05). All impala and kudu samples tested negative. The overall seroprevalence in buffaloes was 11.7% (95% CI: 6.6–19.5), and there was no significant (p = 0.38) difference between the sites (Mabalauta, 4.4% [95% CI: 0.2–24] vs. Chipinda, 13.6% [95% CI: 7.6–23]). The overall seroprevalence in buffaloes (11.7%, 13/111) was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher than in cattle (1.7%, 17/1011). The results established the presence of RVFV in cattle and selected wildlife and that sylvatic infections may be present in buffalo populations. Further studies are required to investigate if the virus is circulating between cattle and wildlife.