A negative human serosurvey of haemorrhagic fever viruses in Djibouti.

Viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHF) comprise a group of at least 13 diseases caused by viral infections which may produce severe haemorrhagic complications. VHF are distributed throughout much of the tropics and subtropics. The aetiological agents belong to various families of viruses and can be classified epidemiologically into 4 groups according to their modes Of transmission [5]. VHF are geographically limited, and of the 13 human diseases known to occur worldwide, only a few can be found in any defined area. In Djibouti, situated in the north of the Horn of Africa, 9 VHF viruses could have epidemiological or public health relevance, since they have been described to occur in some of the surrounding countries. These 9 viruses include yellow fever (YF), dengue (DEN), Chikungunya (CHIK) and Rift Valley fever (RVF) of the mosquito-borne VHF; Congo-Crimean (CON) of the tick-borne VHF; Hantaan (HTN) and Lassa fever (LAS) of the zoonotic VHF; Ebola (EBO) and Marburg (MBG) of the VHF of unknown transmission mode.