Seroprevalence of West Nile, Rift Valley, and sandfly arboviruses in Hashimiah, Jordan

We conducted a serosurvey among patients of a health center in Hashimiah, a Jordanian town of 30,000 inhabitants located near a wastewater treatment p lant and its effluent channel. Serum samples from 261 patients greater than or equal to 5 years of age were assessed for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Ig M antibodies against West Nile, sandfly Sicilian, sandfly Naples, and Rift Valley viruses; the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies was 8%, 47%, 30%, and 0%, respectively. Female participants were more likely to have been infecte d than male. Persons living within 2 km of the treatment plant were more li kely to have been infected with West Nile (p = 0.016) and sandfly Sicilian (p = 0.010) viruses. Raising domestic animals within the house was a risk f actor for sandfly Sicilian (p = 0.003) but not for sandfly Naples virus (p = 0.148). All serum samples were negative for IgM antibodies against the te sted viruses. Our study is the first documentation of West Nile and sandfly Viruses in Jordan and calls attention to the possible health hazards of li ving close to wastewater treatment plants and their effluent channels.