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SPECTRUM OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER VIRUS TRANSMISSION IN KENYA: INSIGHTS FROM THREE DISTINCT REGIONS

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an emerging pathogen that maintains high biodefense priority based on its threat to livestock, its ability to cause human hemorrhagic fever, and its potential for aerosol spread. To define the range of human transmission during inter-epidemic and epidemic periods in Kenya, we tested archived sera from defined populations (N = 1,263) for anti-RVFV IgG by ELISA and plaque reduction neutralization testing. RVFV seroprevalence was 10.8% overall and varied significantly by location, sex, and age. In NW Kenya, high seroprevalence among those born before 1980 indicates that an undetected epidemic may have occurred then. Seroconversion documented in highland areas suggests previously unsuspected inter-epidemic transmission. RVFV seroprevalence is strikingly high in certain Kenyan areas, suggesting endemic transmission patterns that may preclude accurate estimation of regional acute outbreak incidence. The extent of both epidemic and inter-epidemic RVFV transmission in Kenya is greater than previously documented.

Received September 1, 2006. Accepted for publication January 24, 2007.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Dr. Ronald Blanton, Dr. Chandy John, and Dr. Christopher King for their donation of archived human sera for this study.

Financial support: This work was supported in part by NIH grants T32 AI52067, K12 RR023264, and 1U01AI45473-S1.

^* Address correspondence to A.D. LaBeaud, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. E-mail: adl14{at}case.edu

Authors’ addresses: Angelle Desiree LaBeaud, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, Telephone: +1 (216) 368-5063, Fax: +1 (216) 368-4825, E-mail: adl14{at}case.edu. Yoshitsugu Ochiai and C. J. Peters, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, Telephone: +1 (409) 772-0090, Fax: +1 (409) 747-0762, E-mails: yoochiai{at}utmb.edu and cjpeters{at}utmb.edu. Eric M. Muchiri, Division of Communicable & Vector-Borne Diseases, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 20750, Nairobi, Kenya, Telephone: +254 20 725 833 and +254 20 724 302, Fax: +254 20 725 624, E-mail: dvbd{at}wananchi.com. Charles H. King, Center for Global Health and Diseases, CWRU School of Medicine, Room Wolstein 4126, Cleveland, OH 44106-4983, Telephone: +1 (216) 368-3667, Fax: +1 (216) 368-4825, E-mail: chk{at}po.cwru.edu.