Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review

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dc.contributor.advisorDe Waal, Renee
dc.contributor.advisorHohlfeld, Ameer Steven-Jrg
dc.contributor.authorFouche, Chloe
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-29T10:17:37Z
dc.date.available2026-06-29T10:17:37Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.date.updated2026-06-29T08:40:27Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: Rift Valley fever (RVF) poses a significant threat to human and animal health. Understanding the burden of RVF virus (RVFV) is essential for guiding prevention and control strategies. We conducted a systematic review of the prevalence of, and risk factors for, RVFV in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010- 2024. Methods: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered this study on PROSPERO (Animal studies: CRD42025063878; Human studies: CRD420251018289). We searched electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus) until April 2025 for studies published from 2010-2024. Cross sectional and cohort studies that reported prevalence of RVFV in livestock or humans in South Africa were eligible, with no language restrictions. We screened all identified articles independently in duplicate using Rayyan software. We cross-checked all extracted data. Two reviewers assessed risk of bias using a tool developed by Hoy et al. We used the PERSystMA App (version 1.0) to estimate pooled prevalence. Principal findings: We included seven studies with a total of 2,355 human and 4,397 livestock participants. None of the studies had high risk of bias. Prevalence ranged from 0.5-42.9% in cattle (three studies), 9.3-31.7% in goats (two studies) and 0-9.1% in humans (three studies). Prevalence was 0.8% in pigs and 28.0% in sheep (one study each). Pooled prevalence was 2.3% (95% confidence interval 0.4-12.8%) in humans and 4.8% (95% confidence interval 0.6-28.3%) in livestock, I2>90%. Risk factors included increasing age and increased proximity to water sources for both livestock and humans. Conclusion: This review identified significant interepidemic RVF virus circulation in South African livestock and humans. Limitations include few studies and significant heterogeneity. This review highlights a need for expanded surveillance, to aid outbreak preparedness and help mitigate public health and economic impacts. The authors received no specific funding for this work.
dc.identifier.apacitationFouche, C. (2026). <i>Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFouche, Chloe. <i>"Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2026. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFouche, C. 2026. Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Fouche, Chloe AB - Background: Rift Valley fever (RVF) poses a significant threat to human and animal health. Understanding the burden of RVF virus (RVFV) is essential for guiding prevention and control strategies. We conducted a systematic review of the prevalence of, and risk factors for, RVFV in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010- 2024. Methods: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered this study on PROSPERO (Animal studies: CRD42025063878; Human studies: CRD420251018289). We searched electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus) until April 2025 for studies published from 2010-2024. Cross sectional and cohort studies that reported prevalence of RVFV in livestock or humans in South Africa were eligible, with no language restrictions. We screened all identified articles independently in duplicate using Rayyan software. We cross-checked all extracted data. Two reviewers assessed risk of bias using a tool developed by Hoy et al. We used the PERSystMA App (version 1.0) to estimate pooled prevalence. Principal findings: We included seven studies with a total of 2,355 human and 4,397 livestock participants. None of the studies had high risk of bias. Prevalence ranged from 0.5-42.9% in cattle (three studies), 9.3-31.7% in goats (two studies) and 0-9.1% in humans (three studies). Prevalence was 0.8% in pigs and 28.0% in sheep (one study each). Pooled prevalence was 2.3% (95% confidence interval 0.4-12.8%) in humans and 4.8% (95% confidence interval 0.6-28.3%) in livestock, I2>90%. Risk factors included increasing age and increased proximity to water sources for both livestock and humans. Conclusion: This review identified significant interepidemic RVF virus circulation in South African livestock and humans. Limitations include few studies and significant heterogeneity. This review highlights a need for expanded surveillance, to aid outbreak preparedness and help mitigate public health and economic impacts. The authors received no specific funding for this work. DA - 2026 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Rift Valley fever virus KW - livestock KW - humans KW - South Africa LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2026 T1 - Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review TI - Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFouche C. Prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, 2026 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43410en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Health and Family Medicine
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectRift Valley fever virus
dc.subjectlivestock
dc.subjecthumans
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.titlePrevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in livestock and humans in South Africa from 2010 to 2024: a systematic literature review
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMPH
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