Evidence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Circulation in Livestock and Herders in Southern Ghana

Sherry Ama Mawuko Johnson; Richard Asmah; Joseph Adongo Awuni; William Tasiame; Gloria Ivy Mensah; Janusz T Paweska; Jacqueline Weyer; Orienka Hellferscee; Peter N Thompson

doi:10.3390/v15061346

Evidence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Circulation in Livestock and Herders in Southern Ghana

Viruses. 2023 Jun 10;15(6):1346. doi: 10.3390/v15061346.

Authors

Sherry Ama Mawuko Johnson^{1

2}, Richard Asmah³, Joseph Adongo Awuni⁴, William Tasiame⁵, Gloria Ivy Mensah⁶, Janusz T Paweska^{7

8}, Jacqueline Weyer^{7

8}, Orienka Hellferscee^{7

9}, Peter N Thompson¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
² School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra 00233, Ghana.
³ School of Biomedical & Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana.
⁴ Accra Veterinary Laboratory, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Accra P.O. Box M161, Ghana.
⁵ School of Veterinary Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana.
⁶ Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana.
⁷ Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa.
⁸ Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
⁹ Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa.

Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a re-emerging zoonotic disease of domestic ruminants and humans. While neighbouring countries have reported outbreaks of RVF, Ghana has not yet identified any cases. The aim of this study was to determine whether RVF virus (RVFV) was circulating in livestock and herders in the southern part of Ghana, to estimate its seroprevalence, and to identify associated risk factors. The study surveyed 165 livestock farms randomly selected from two districts in southern Ghana. Serum samples of 253 goats, 246 sheep, 220 cattle, and 157 herdsmen were tested to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against RVFV. The overall seroprevalence of anti-RVF antibodies in livestock was 13.1% and 30.9% of farms had RVFV seropositive animals. The species-specific prevalence was 24.1% in cattle, 8.5% in sheep, and 7.9% in goats. A RVFV IgG seroprevalence of 17.8% was found among the ruminant herders, with 8.3% of all herders being IgM positive. RVFV was shown, for the first time, to have been circulating in southern Ghana, with evidence of a recent outbreak in Kwahu East; however, it was clinically undetected despite significant recent human exposure. A One Health approach is recommended to better understand RVF epidemiology and socio-economic impact in Ghana.

Keywords: Ghana; One Health; Rift Valley fever; vector-borne disease; zoonosis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antibodies, Viral
Cattle
Cattle Diseases*
Ghana / epidemiology
Goats
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M
Livestock
Rift Valley Fever*
Rift Valley fever virus*
Ruminants
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Sheep
Sheep Diseases* / epidemiology

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Immunoglobulin M
Immunoglobulin G

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Future Africa Institute, University of Pretoria with funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York and BANGA Africa Project of University of Ghana. The APC was funded by Future Africa, University of Pretoria.