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The prevalence of infections and risk factors that go along with them give insights into the burden of disease and effectiveness of infection prevention and control strategies. In this study we investigated the burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and associated epidemiological factors in three regions of Madagascar among healthcare workers. Between May and June 2021, we conducted a multi-site cross-sectional study among healthcare workers in eight University Hospital Centers, during the local second wave and before the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination campaign in three regional capitals of Madagascar. We collected demographic information and relevant SARS-CoV-2 exposure history and tested for both immunoglobulin G antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and active SARS-CoV-2 infection using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. A total of 1006 healthcare workers enrolled in the study out of which 53.8% tested positive for either acute infection or SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Approximately 50% of the participants reported receiving inadequate training on SARS-CoV-2 and associated infection prevention and control measures, inadequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and discomfort when using available PPE. Prevalence of acute infection was 3.4% without statistically significant variation in the different regions or health facilities as well as the different profession groups and units of work. Average seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies was 52.0%, varying between 47.8% and 53.3% across the different regions. No significant difference was observed for region, gender, profession, and different risk groups. Predictive multivariable model showed significant association between seropositivity and healthcare facility and age (p<0.05). Our results revealed high infection rate of SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs in all three selected regions of Madagascar. The high disease burden identified in the study population might characterize the extent of high undocumented infection rates in HCWs in other regions of Madagascar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombali virus (BOMV) is a novel Orthoebolavirus that has been detected in free-tailed bats in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Kenya, and Mozambique. We screened our collection of 349 free-tailed bat lungs collected in Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania for BOMV RNA and tested 228 bat blood samples for BOMV antibodies. We did not detect BOMV-specific antibodies but found BOMV RNA in a Mops condylurus bat from Tanzania, marking the first detection of an ebolavirus in this country. Our findings further expand the geographic range of BOMV and support M. condylurus' role as a natural BOMV host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hantavirus infections cause febrile and often lifethreatening zoonoses known as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Human pathogenic hantavirus species usually are carried by specific rodent reservoirs, [...]

Rickettsial pathogens are among the emerging and re-emerging vector-borne zoonoses of public health importance. Reports indicate human exposure to Rickettsial pathogens in Namibia through serological surveys, but there is a lack of data on infection rates in tick vectors, hindering the assessment of the relative risk to humans. Our study sought to screen Ixodid ticks collected from livestock for the presence of Rickettsia species in order to determine infection rates in ticks and to determine the Rickettsia species circulating in the country. We collected and pooled Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus ticks from two adjacent regions of Namibia (Khomas and Otjozondjupa) and observed an overall minimum Rickettsia infection rate of 8.6% (26/304), with an estimated overall pooled prevalence of 9.94% (95% CI: 6.5–14.3). There were no statistically significant differences in the estimated pooled prevalence between the two regions or tick genera. Based on the nucleotide sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis of the outer membrane protein A (n = 9) and citrate synthase (n = 12) genes, BLAST analysis revealed similarity between Rickettsia africae (n = 2) and Rickettsia aeschlimannii (n = 11), with sequence identities ranging from 98.46 to 100%. Our initial study in Namibia indicates that both zoonotic R. africae and R. aeschlimannii are in circulation in the country, with R. aeschlimannii being the predominant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the positivity ratio of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) antibodies in cattle and sheep within Namibia's Omaheke region after a human disease outbreak in the same geographical area. A total of 200 samples (100 cattle and 100 sheep) were randomly collected from animals brought to two regional auction sites, and then tested using the ID Screen® CCHF Double Antigen Multi-Species Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay kit. Of the cattle samples, 36% tested positive, while 22% of the sheep samples were seropositive. The cattle had a significantly higher positivity ratio than sheep at the individual animal level (p = 0.0291). At the herd level, 62.5% of cattle herds and 45.5% of sheep flocks had at least one positive animal, but this difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.2475). The fourteen cattle farms with at least one seropositive animal were dispersed across the Omaheke region. In contrast, the ten sheep farms with seropositive cases were predominantly situated in the southern half of the region. The study concluded that the CCHF is endemic in the Omaheke region and likely in most of Namibia, underscoring the importance of continued surveillance and preventive measures to mitigate the impact of CCHFV on animal health and potential spillover into human populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hantavirus disease, also called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, is a zoonosis; hantaviruses are transmitted from their reservoirs (rodents) to humans. The clinical course is characterized [...]

Hantaviruses are globally emerging zoonotic pathogens that cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (1). One representative of this negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus family is rat-associated [...]

To the Editor: Lassa fever is a zoonosis caused by Lassa virus (LASV; family Arenaviridae, genus Lassavirus). The primary reservoir of LASV is the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis), which is [...]