Antibodies against arboviruses in Sierra Leone

Sera from 180 blood donors in Sierra Leone were examined by combined hemagglutination - inhibition, complement fixation, and neutralization tests for antibodies against 10 arbovirus. The donors were 20 to 40 years old and resident at Panguma, Tongo, Serabu and Segbwema. Thirty sera (16.6%) had antibodies to group B viruses, the majority of which were to yellow fever virus as confirmed by N tests. Nineteen sera had antibodies to Arumowot virus and 4 to Sindbis virus. N antibodies against UgMP 359, a non-group B virus, were demonstrated in 12 of the sera. No antibodies were found against Bwamba and Ilesha viruses.