Rift Valley fever virus: Propagation, quantification, and storage

Authors: SMITH, MARYKA - Kansas State University; Schirtzinger, Erin; Wilson, William; DAVIS, A. SALLY - Kansas State University

Submitted to: Current Protocols in Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/16/2020
Publication Date: 9/19/2019
Citation: Smith, M., Schirtzinger, E.E., Wilson, W.C., Davis, A. 2019. Rift Valley fever virus: Propagation, quantification, and storage. Current Protocols in Microbiology. 55(1):e92. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpmc.92.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpmc.92

Interpretive Summary: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a pathogen endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula transmitted by mosquitoes. This review focuses on the laboratory procedures to propagate, quantitate and store the virus.

Technical Abstract: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an arthropod-borne zoonotic disease endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever have had up to 100% mortality rates in fetal and neonatal sheep. Upon infection of ruminant and human hosts alike, RVFV causes an at times severe hepatitis, and pathology in many other organs. The enveloped virion contains a tripartite, predominantly negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genome, which codes for the proteins the virus needs to replicate both in mammalian hosts and insect vectors. Endemic countries often use attenuated RVFV strains for vaccination of livestock but there are no commercially licensed vaccines for humans or livestock in non-endemic areas. In the laboratory, RVFV can be readily propagated and manipulated in vitro using cell culture systems. Presented in this unit are techniques routinely used in RVFV research that have been proven successful in our laboratories.