Longitudinal seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in Southern Uganda

Mihalakakos, Evan A.; Ssempijja, Victor; Ribeiro, Ruy Miguel; Molina-Paris, Carmen; Katushabe, Gerald; Nalwadda, Josephine; Omooja, Jonah; Byarugaba, Denis K.; Rosenke, Kyle; Reynolds, Steven J.; Grabowski, Mary K.; Galiwango, Ronald M.; Ssekubugu, Robert; Feldmann, Heinz; Hawman, David W.

doi:10.1080/22221751.2025.2465315

Longitudinal seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in Southern Uganda

Journal Article · Sun Mar 02 23:00:00 EST 2025 · Emerging Microbes & Infections

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2025.2465315· OSTI ID:2556830

Mihalakakos, Evan A. ^[1]; Ssempijja, Victor ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Katushabe, Gerald ^[3]; Nalwadda, Josephine ^[3]; Omooja, Jonah ^[3]; Byarugaba, Denis K. ^[4]; Rosenke, Kyle ^[1]; Reynolds, Steven J. ^[1]; Grabowski, Mary K. ^[5]; Galiwango, Ronald M. ^[6]; Ssekubugu, Robert ^[6]; ^[1]; Hawman, David W. ^[1]

National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD (United States)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) (Uganda)
Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) (Uganda); Makerere University
Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). School of Medicine
Rakai Health Sciences Program (Uganda)

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne disease endemic to many regions of Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Balkans. Caused by the CCHF virus (CCHFV), CCHF has been a recognized cause of illness in Uganda since the 1950s and recently, more intensive surveillance suggests CCHFV is widely endemic within the country. Most surveillance has been focused on the Ugandan cattle corridor due to the risk of CCHFV exposure associated with livestock practices. Here we evaluated the seroprevalence of CCHFV in several Southern Ugandan communities outside the cattle corridor combined with longitudinal sample sets to measure the immune response to CCHFV for up to a decade. Interestingly, across three community types, agrarian, trading and fishing, we detected CCHFV seroprevalence in all three but found the highest seroprevalence in fishing communities. We also measured consistent CCHFV-specific antibody responses for up to a decade. Our findings support the conclusion that CCHFV is widely endemic in Uganda and highlight that additional communities may be at risk for CCHFV exposure.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 2556830

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--25-20661

Journal Information:: Emerging Microbes & Infections, Journal Name: Emerging Microbes & Infections Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 14; ISSN 2222-1751

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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