SEROPOSITIVITY OF YELLOW FEVER VIRUS AMONG ACUTE FEBRILE PATIENTS ATTENDING SELECTED HEALTH FACILITIES IN BORENA DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Background: Yellow fever (YF) is a reemerging public health threat in Ethiopia; however, there is limited information on the seroprevalence of Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) in different parts of the country and the sociodemographic factors that may predispose individuals to infection. In this study the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of YFV infection were assessed in Borena district, southern Ethiopia..   Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to August 2016. A total of 519 consecutive acute febrile patients attending the outpatient departments of Teltelle Health Center, Yabelo and Moyale Hospitals were enrolled. Data on socio-demographic and environmental risk factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from all participants and screened for yellow fever virus exposure using the indirect immunofluorescent assay. Result: The overall prevalence of anti-YFV IgG and IgM was 12.5% and 7.3% respectively. IgG seropositivity was significantly higher among male subjects compared to females (15.7% and 9.6% respectively, AOR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.01-2.91, p-value=0.04). A relatively higher IgM titer was observed in females compared to males (8.8% and 6.0% respectively) but it did not attain statistical significance (COR=1.51, 95% CI:0.78-2.95, p=0.16) . Furthermore, there was no significant association of IgG and IgM seropositivity by age.