Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya.
BACKGROUND: To date, Alphavirus infections and their most prominent member, chikungunya fever, a viral disease which first became apparent in Tanzania in 1953, have been very little investigated in regions without epidemic occurrence. Few data exist on burden of disease and socio-economic and enviro...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:53a7799d90ab405eb0dfa8bc546254c7 2023-05-15T15:07:06+02:00 Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. Nina Weller Petra Clowes Gerhard Dobler Elmar Saathoff Inge Kroidl Nyanda Elias Ntinginya Leonard Maboko Thomas Löscher Michael Hoelscher Norbert Heinrich 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 https://doaj.org/article/53a7799d90ab405eb0dfa8bc546254c7 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4117434?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 https://doaj.org/article/53a7799d90ab405eb0dfa8bc546254c7 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 8, Iss 7, p e2979 (2014) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 2023-01-08T01:24:30Z BACKGROUND: To date, Alphavirus infections and their most prominent member, chikungunya fever, a viral disease which first became apparent in Tanzania in 1953, have been very little investigated in regions without epidemic occurrence. Few data exist on burden of disease and socio-economic and environmental covariates disposing to infection. METHODS: A cross-sectional seroprevalence study was undertaken in 1,215 persons from Mbeya region, South-Western Tanzania, to determine the seroprevalence of anti-Alphavirus IgG antibodies, and to investigate associated risk factors. RESULTS: 18% of 1,215 samples were positive for Alphavirus IgG. Seropositivity was associated with participant age, low to intermediate elevation, flat terrain and with IgG positivity for Rift Valley fever, Flaviviridae, and rickettsiae of the spotted fever group. When comparing the geographical distribution of Alphavirus seropositivity to that of Rift Valley fever, it was obvious that Alphaviruses had spread more widely throughout the study area, while Rift Valley fever was concentrated along the shore of Lake Malawi. CONCLUSION: Alphavirus infections may contribute significantly to the febrile disease burden in the study area, and are associated with several arthropod-borne infections. Their spread seems only limited by factors affecting mosquitoes, and seems less restricted than that of Rift Valley fever. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 8 7 e2979 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Nina Weller Petra Clowes Gerhard Dobler Elmar Saathoff Inge Kroidl Nyanda Elias Ntinginya Leonard Maboko Thomas Löscher Michael Hoelscher Norbert Heinrich Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: To date, Alphavirus infections and their most prominent member, chikungunya fever, a viral disease which first became apparent in Tanzania in 1953, have been very little investigated in regions without epidemic occurrence. Few data exist on burden of disease and socio-economic and environmental covariates disposing to infection. METHODS: A cross-sectional seroprevalence study was undertaken in 1,215 persons from Mbeya region, South-Western Tanzania, to determine the seroprevalence of anti-Alphavirus IgG antibodies, and to investigate associated risk factors. RESULTS: 18% of 1,215 samples were positive for Alphavirus IgG. Seropositivity was associated with participant age, low to intermediate elevation, flat terrain and with IgG positivity for Rift Valley fever, Flaviviridae, and rickettsiae of the spotted fever group. When comparing the geographical distribution of Alphavirus seropositivity to that of Rift Valley fever, it was obvious that Alphaviruses had spread more widely throughout the study area, while Rift Valley fever was concentrated along the shore of Lake Malawi. CONCLUSION: Alphavirus infections may contribute significantly to the febrile disease burden in the study area, and are associated with several arthropod-borne infections. Their spread seems only limited by factors affecting mosquitoes, and seems less restricted than that of Rift Valley fever. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nina Weller Petra Clowes Gerhard Dobler Elmar Saathoff Inge Kroidl Nyanda Elias Ntinginya Leonard Maboko Thomas Löscher Michael Hoelscher Norbert Heinrich |
author_facet |
Nina Weller Petra Clowes Gerhard Dobler Elmar Saathoff Inge Kroidl Nyanda Elias Ntinginya Leonard Maboko Thomas Löscher Michael Hoelscher Norbert Heinrich |
author_sort |
Nina Weller |
title |
Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
title_short |
Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
title_full |
Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
title_fullStr |
Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern Tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
title_sort |
seroprevalence of alphavirus antibodies in a cross-sectional study in southwestern tanzania suggests endemic circulation of chikungunya. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 https://doaj.org/article/53a7799d90ab405eb0dfa8bc546254c7 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 8, Iss 7, p e2979 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4117434?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 https://doaj.org/article/53a7799d90ab405eb0dfa8bc546254c7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002979 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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8 |
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7 |
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e2979 |
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