van den Bergh, Carien, Venter, Estelle H., Swanepoel, Robert, and Thompson, Peter N. (2019) High seroconversion rate to Rift Valley fever virus in cattle and goats in far northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the absence of reported outbreaks. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 13 (5). e0007296.

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Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-transmitted viral disease that may cause large epidemics in domestic livestock and in humans. Although currently largely confined to Africa, it is of international concern due to its ability to spread and become established in areas where suitable mosquito vectors occur. Outbreaks occur sporadically, associated with conditions favourable for proliferation of mosquito populations, such as high rainfall and flooding, yet their location and timing remain difficult to predict. In other areas there is evidence that RVF virus is endemic and may circulate without causing outbreaks. However,the location and extent of such areas is poorly known, as is the transmission dynamics of the virus in those areas. In this paper, we report the existence of such an area of endemic RVF virus transmission on the tropical coastal plain of South Africa bordering Mozambique, where we found a high rate of exposure of domestic cattle and goats to the naturally circulating virus over a two-year period, with no outbreaks being reported.Research in such areas will help us to assess the potential for spread of the virus to other areas and also to better understand the behaviour of the virus during periods between epidemics.

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