A Report of Zika Virus Seroprevalence in Republic of the Congo.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne RNA virus (arbovirus), belonging to the Spondweni serogroup. ZIKV was first described in Africa in 1947 and remained sporadic until Micronesia outbreak in 2007, which was followed by outbreaks in the Pacific Islands, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Subsequent to the epidemics, ZIKV revealed its severity as virus was sexually transmissible, and it was associated with serious fetal and neurological complications. ZIKV originated from Africa; however, little is known about the epidemiology of the virus in African populations. Following a recent study in Cameroon that evidenced low ZIKV epidemiology associated with a presumptive (peri-)sylvatic transmission, we performed a seroepidemiological study in Republic of the Congo, neighbor of Cameroon. To accomplish this, 386 serum specimens from volunteer blood donors collected in 2011 from rural and urban areas of Republic of the Congo were tested with ZIKV-specific methodology; primary screening with anti-NS1 ZIKV IgG ELISA followed by confirmation with cytopathic effect (CPE)-based virus neutralization test (VNT). ZIKV seropositivity was determined as low as 1.8%, varying slightly between urban and rural areas (1.7% and 3.6%). These results demonstrate that the majority of the population of Republic of the Congo is immunologically naïve against ZIKV with a presumptive (peri-)sylvatic transmission cycle, which emphasizes the importance of surveillance studies in Africa.

Risk Factors Associated with Ebola and Marburg Viruses Seroprevalence in Blood Donors in the Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND: Ebola and Marburg viruses (family Filoviridae, genera Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus) cause haemorrhagic fevers in humans, often associated with high mortality rates. The presence of antibodies to Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV) has been reported in some African countries in individuals without a history of haemorrhagic fever. In this study, we present a MARV and EBOV seroprevalence study conducted amongst blood donors in the Republic of Congo and the analysis of risk factors for contact with EBOV. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: In 2011, we conducted a MARV and EBOV seroprevalence study amongst 809 blood donors recruited in rural (75; 9.3%) and urban (734; 90.7%) areas of the Republic of Congo. Serum titres of IgG antibodies to MARV and EBOV were assessed by indirect double-immunofluorescence microscopy. MARV seroprevalence was 0.5% (4 in 809) without any identified risk factors. Prevalence of IgG to EBOV was 2.5%, peaking at 4% in rural areas and in Pointe Noire. Independent risk factors identified by multivariate analysis were contact with bats and exposure to birds. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This MARV and EBOV serological survey performed in the Republic of Congo identifies a probable role for environmental determinants of exposure to EBOV. It highlights the requirement for extending our understanding of the ecological and epidemiological risk of bats (previously identified as a potential ecological reservoir) and birds as vectors of EBOV to humans, and characterising the protection potentially afforded by EBOV-specific antibodies as detected in blood donors.