A Multi-Host Approach to Quantitatively Assess the Role of Dogs as Sentinels for Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV)...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Epidemiology
• Arbovirology
• Public Health Surveillance

Background:

• Arbovirus circulation surveillance is crucial, especially in developing nations.
• Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) poses a significant threat in endemic areas.
• Sentinel animals are valuable tools for disease monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of dogs as sentinel animals for RVFV surveillance in Madagascar.
• To assess the correlation between RVFV exposure in dogs, cattle, and humans.
• To determine if dog serological data can predict RVFV circulation and impact on other populations.

Main Methods:

• Conducted serological surveys on 513 dogs, 135 cattle, and analyzed 486 human blood samples in Madagascar.
• Detected antibodies against RVFV in dogs, cattle, and humans.
• Applied serocatalytic models to age-stratified data to estimate the force of infection (FOI) for RVFV.

Main Results:

• RVFV antibodies were detected in 4.5% of dogs, 24.4% of cattle, and 17.7% of humans.
• The best-fit model showed RVFV FOI in humans and cattle was proportional to that in dogs.
• Estimated proportionality parameters: 2.6 for humans and 3.5 for cattle, indicating higher dog exposure.

Conclusions:

• Dog blood samples are a viable method for detecting RVFV circulation in Madagascar.
• Canine seroprevalence can be used to infer RVFV exposure levels in local human and cattle populations.
• Dogs represent a practical sentinel species for RVF surveillance in endemic settings.