Research project Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease causing devastating outbreaks which large economic losses to poor African countries. RVF virus (RVFV) is transmitted by various mosquito species but also by blood or aerosols. It is crucial to understand the mechanisms driving the transmission cycles to establish effective countermeasures. In south Tanzania RVF has not been described although there exist a high seroprevalence. We hypothesize the occurrence of an endemic low level transmission cycle of low-pathogenic RVFV strains
The mosquito-borne viral disease, Rift Valley fever (RVF) occurs mainly in the third world, where outbreaks cause high mortality in livestock and humans. In southern Tanzania there is no RVF although many in the population have antibodies to RVF virus, which means that they have had an infection. Our hypothesis is that these people have been infected by a virus that does not cause serious illness. We will investigate if this is true by taking samples of animals and mosquitoes in that area. The RVF virus that we can isolate we will study in terms of how they differ from the viruses that cause severe disease
Finansår , 2013, 2014, 2015
huvudman: Magnus Evander, finansiar: VR Swedish Research Links, y2013: 200, y2014: 200, y2015: 200,
