Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus (RVFV) is an emerging vector-borne pathogen that causes sporadic epizootics and epidemics with multi-year, apparently quiescent, inter-epidemic periods. The epidemiology and ecology of the virus during these inter-epidemic periods is poorly understood. There is evidence for low-level circulation of the virus in livestock and wild ruminants; however, as of yet there is no evidence to identify a specific mammalian reservoir host. Using a systematic approach, this review synthesizes results from serosurveys, attempts at viral detection, and experimental infection of wildlife. These data demonstrate there is a gap in research conducted on RVF in wild ruminants. Specifically, there is very little published data on the pathogenicity of an RVFV infection in various wildlife species, validation of diagnostic assays for exposure to RVFV and understanding of epizootic or endemic disease dynamics in wild ruminants. We recommend that future research on RVFV incorporate a more systematic approach to understand the low-level cycling of the virus during inter-epidemic periods in both wild and domestic ruminant species.

中文翻译：

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裂谷热：野生动物是否起作用？

裂谷热（RVF）病毒（RVFV）是一种新兴的媒介传播病原体，在数年的，看来是静止的，流行病之间的周期性流行期间，会引起零星的流行病和流行病。在这些流行病之间的时期，病毒的流行病学和生态学知之甚少。有证据表明该病毒在牲畜和野生反刍动物中低水平传播；但是，到目前为止，还没有证据能够确定特定的哺乳动物水库宿主。该综述使用系统的方法综合了血清调查，病毒检测尝试和野生动物实验性感染的结果。这些数据表明野生反刍动物对RVF的研究存在差距。具体而言，关于各种野生生物中RVFV感染的致病性的公开数据很少，验证暴露于RVFV的诊断检测方法的有效性，并了解野生反刍动物的流行病或地方病动态。我们建议未来对RVFV的研究应采用更系统的方法，以了解野生和家养反刍动物在流行期间的病毒低水平循环。