Ecology and Epidemiology of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Transmission in the Republic of Senegal
Abstract
Further progress is reported for the second year of a project to investigate the transmission ecology of tick-borne Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) in the West African savannah. Long-term, prospective observations were continued at 3 sites in northern Senegal; other studies of virus transmission were performed in Mauritania. Adult tick activity on domestic ungulates appears seasonal for the major Rhipacephalus spp., but equivocal for Hyalomma spp. Immature ticks feeding on small mammals and birds are most abundant during and just after the rainy season. The prevalence of anti-CCHFV antibodies is high among cattle and sheep in our northern study areas, and falls to near zero with increasing rainfall and vegetation in southern Senegal. Monthly sero-conversion incidence rose precipitously during a period when adult Hyalomma were unusually abundant. Maternal transmission of IgC antibodies was observed. The spatial distribution of human infection rates correlated with that for domestic animals. Human cases one fatal, were studied during a period of epizoptic transmission among sheep. CCHFV was isolated from pools of H. truncatum and R. guilhoni.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA224286
Entities
People
- Jean-pierre Digoutte
- Mark L. Wilson