Study of the prevalence of antibodies to some arboviruses in the population of the Republic of Guinea

Introduction. Acute febrile diseases kill more than 250,000 people annually in West Africa. Malaria and typhoid fever traditionally occupy most of the total structure of registered fevers. However, these data do not fully reflect the true overall disease patterns in the West African region. This is due to the fact that diagnosis is mainly based on the clinical signs of the infectious process, suggesting that a certain number of diseases may be caused by arboviruses. The detection of specific antibodies (ABs) to infectious pathogens in the blood sera of residents of a particular area is a reliable indicator of the circulation of these pathogens in a particular territory. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies to a number of arboviruses: Dengue (DENV), West Nile (WNV) (family Flaviviridae), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (orthonairo)virus (CCHFV), Batai (Batai virus), Bhanja (BHAV) (order Bunyavirales), Chikungunya (CHIKV), and Sindbis (SINV) (family Togaviridae) in the population of the Republic of Guinea. Material and methods. In total, a panel of 2,620 blood serum samples from people living in all landscape and geographical areas of Guinea was collected for the study. Detection of IgG antibodies was performed using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Results. In total, ABs to Batai virus were detected in 144 samples (5.5%), BHAV in 58 (2.2%), WNV in 892 (34.0 %), DENV in 659 (25.2 %), CCHFV in 58 (2.2 %), CHIKV in 339 (12.9 %), and SINV in 52 samples (2.0 %). Discussion. The obtained results indicate serological evidence of the spectrum of arboviruses in the population of all landscape and geographical zones of the Republic of Guinea, confirming their active circulation in this territory. Conclusion. Given the high epidemiological significance of arbovirus infectious diseases, it is an urgent task to continue studying its share in the structure of febrile diseases in the territory of the Republic of Guinea.