ABSTRACT
Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are phylogenetically closely related arboviruses. These viruses mainly follow an enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes and birds, but they occasionally infect humans and other mammals, inducing neurotropic disorders. Since the discovery of USUV, only two human cases have been reported in Africa, including one in Burkina Faso in 2004. Since then, no studies have been conducted to measure the extent of the circulation of this virus in Burkina Faso, and no study regarding the circulation of WNV has been conducted. Our study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of USUV and WNV in blood donations and in animals (horses, dogs, chickens and pigeons) and to perform molecular screening in patients with febrile fever and in Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The prevalence of USUV and WNV was studied by serological (ELISA and microneutralization tests) and molecular analyses (RT-qPCR) of mosquito, dog, domestic bird, horse, and human samples in Burkina Faso between 2019 and 2021. We detected a very active transmission of both viruses in Burkina Faso. WNV and USUV seroprevalence is particularly high in humans (19.16% and 14.17%, respectively) and horses (17.28% and 6.17%). Molecular screening did not detect WNV or USUV in the mosquito or human samples tested. Our study shows an active spread of USUV and WNV in Burkina Faso, especially for WNV. This study highlights the value of developing surveillance programs to better prevent, detect, and alert people to USUV and WNV circulation in both primary and incidental hosts.
ABSTRACT
Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) are two closely related members of the Flaviviridae family, both transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, and are among the arboviruses most at risk to human health. Burkina Faso has been facing an upsurge in DENV outbreaks since 2013. Unlike DENV, there is no serological evidence of ZIKV circulation in humans in Burkina Faso. The main objective of our study was to determine the seroprevalence of ZIKV and DENV in blood donors in Burkina Faso. A total of 501 donor samples collected in the two major cities of the country in 2020 were first tested by a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect flavivirus antibodies. Positive sera were then tested using Luminex to detect ZIKV and DENV antibodies and virus-specific microneutralization tests against ZIKV were performed. The ZIKV seroprevalence was 22.75% in the donor samples and we found seropositivity for all DENV-serotypes ranging from 19.56% for DENV-1 to 48.86% for DENV-2. Molecular analyses performed on samples from febrile patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes between 2019 and 2021 were negative. Our study showed the important circulation of ZIKV and DENV detected by serology although molecular evidence of the circulation of ZIKV could not be demonstrated. It is essential to strengthen existing arbovirus surveillance in Burkina Faso and more broadly in West Africa by focusing on fevers of unknown origin and integrating vector surveillance to assess the extent of ZIKV circulation and identify the circulating strain. Further studies are needed to better understand the epidemiology of this virus in order to define appropriate prevention and response methods.
