Rift Valley fever among febrile patients at New Halfa hospital, eastern Sudan

BACKGROUND: Since the first isolation of the Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) in 1930s, there have been several epizootics outbreaks in the tropic mainly in Africa including Sudan. Recognition of cases and diagnosis of RVF are critical for management and control of the disease. AIMS: To investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors for seropostive to RVFV IgG among febrile patients. METHODS: All febrile patients presented to New Halfa hospital in eastern Sudan during September through November 2007 were investigated to identify the cause of their fever including malaria and RFV. RESULTS: Out of 290 feverish patients presented to the hospital, malaria was diagnosis in 94 individuals. Fevers of unknown origin were diagnosed in 149 patients. Seropostive to RVFV IgG was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 122 (81.8%) of the sera from these 149 patients with fever of unknown origin. While socio-demographic characteristics (age, Job, education and residency) were not associated with seropostive to RVFV IgG, male (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.0-7.6; P = 0.04) were at three times higher risk for seropostive to RVFV IgG. CONCLUSION: There was a high seropostive to RVFV IgG in this setting, more research is needed perhaps using other methods like PCR and IGM.