Seroprevalence of West Nile Virus and Associated Factors in Borena District, Southern Ethiopia

West Nile virus is a member of genus Flavivirus that cause emerging disease. It is transmitted with mosquitoes, Culex species. Still now, no studies carried out to determine the seroprevalence of WNV antibodies in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the WNV seroprevalence and its associated factors in health facilities in the Borena District. An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to August, 2019. 519 consecutive acute febrile patients attending the outpatient departments of Teltelle Health Center, Yabello and Moyale Hospital were participated. Data on socio-demographic and associated factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. 3-5 blood samples were collected from all participants and screened for WNV antibodies using indirect immunofluorescence assay. The overall prevalence of anti-WNV IgG and IgM was 7.3% and 2.7% respectively. Above thirty-nine percent of the study participants were from Teltelle Health center, 36.6% were from Moyale Hospital, and the left were (23.7%) were from Yabello Hospital. Female participants (3.3%) had higher rate of WNV IgM compared to males (2%), but male was account higher in IgG antibody (8.8%). This study provides evidence that WNV infection is prevalent in the study area. The observed low awareness of participants underlines the urgent need for further community based studies to determine the associated factors that determine the extent of exposure to WNV infection in the study area for appropriate control and prevention.