Authors: Dr Caroline Cleopatra Chisenga, Caroline C. Chisenga1, Samuel Bosomprah1,2*, Kalo Musukuma1, Cynthia Mubanga1, Obvious N. Chilyabanyama1, Rachel M. Velu1, Young-Chan Kim3, Arturo Reyes-Sandoval3, and Roma Chilengi1 1Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia. 2 Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra. 3The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, The Henry Wellcome Building for Molecular Physiology, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, United Kingdom. * Corresponding author: samuel.bosomprah@cidrz.org.
Citation Style For This Article: Chisenga C, Bosomprah S, Musukuma K, et al. Sero-prevalence of arthropod-borne virus infections among Lukanga swamp residents in Zambia. The Health Press Zambia Bull. 2020; 4(4); pp 31
Background
The re-emergence of vector-borne diseases affecting millions of people in recent years has drawn attention to arboviruses globally. Here, we report on the seroprevalence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus (DENV), mayoral virus (MAYV), and zika virus (ZIKV) in a swamp community in Zambia.
Methods
We collected blood and saliva samples from residents of Lukanga swamps in 2016 during a mass-cholera vaccination campaign. Over 10,000 residents were vaccinated with two doses of Shanchol™ during this period. The biological samples were collected prior to vaccination (baseline) and at specified time points after vaccination. We tested a total of 214 baselines stored serum samples for IgG antibodies against NS1 of DENV and ZIKV and E2 of CHIKV and MAYV on ELISA. We defined seroprevalence as the proportion of participants with optical density (OD) values above a defined cut-off value, determined using a finite mixture model.
Results
Of the 214 participants, 79 (36.9%; 95% CI 30.5–43.8) were seropositive for Chikungunya; 23 (10.8%; 95% CI 6.9–15.7) for Zika, 36 (16.8%; 95% CI 12.1–22.5) for Dengue and 42 (19.6%; 95% CI 14.5–25.6) for Mayaro. Older participants were more likely to have the Zika virus whilst those involved with fishing activities were at greater risk of contracting the Chikungunya virus. Among all the antigens tested, we also found that Chikungunya saliva antibody titers correlated with baseline serum titers (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = 0.222; p = 0.03).
Conclusion
Arbovirus transmission is occurring in Zambia. This requires proper screening tools as well as surveillance data to accurately report on disease burden in Zambia.
Recommendations
The success of the trial phase lead to the desire to expand the technology to other services provides in the other units and wards that have a high demand for laboratory reports.
The use of technology in service delivery is the future for better service delivery.