†Eiman Ahmad Elbishbishi
Egyptian Reference Diagnostic Center ( ERDC), VACSERA,
Cairo, Egypt.
The rodent population of
Kuwait was investigated for the prevalence of Rift valley fever virus (RVFV)
and Sand fly fever viruses (SFV). Serum samples were collected from 127 wild
rodents of different species trapped at different sites in Kuwait. The sera
were tested for the presence of antibodies against RVFV and SFV of Naples (SFN)
and Sicilian (SFS) strains by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The
findings showed the presence of antibodies against RVFV in 12 out of 127 (9%)
rodents. Only the sera of Mus musculus (12 out of 92; 13%) were
positive, while those of Rattus norvegicus (n=21), Tatera indica
(n=11) and Nesokia indica (n=3) were comparatively negative.
Antibodies against SFV were present in 13 out of 127 (10.2 %) rodents, 4 (3.1%)
being positive for the Sicilian strain and 9 (7.2%) for the Naples strain.