Sera collected in May 1984 from 132 adult residents of Karamoja district, Uganda, were examined by haemagglutination inhibition tests for
antibodies against selected arboviruses, namely Chikungunya and Semliki Forest alphaviruses (Togaviridae);
dengue type 2, Wesselsbron, West Nile,
yellow fever and Zika flaviviruses (Flaviviridae); Bunyamwera, Ilesha and Tahyna bunyaviruses (Bunyaviridae); and Sicilian
sandfly fever phlebovirus (Bunyaviridae); and by immunofluorescence tests against certain haemorrhagic
fever viruses,
Lassa fever arenavirus (Arenaviridae), Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Zaïre and Marburg filoviruses (Filoviridae),
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever nairovirus and
Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (Bunyaviridae).
Antibodies against Chikungunya virus were the most prevalent (47%), followed by flavivirus
antibodies (16%), which were probably due mainly to West Nile virus. No evidence of
yellow fever or dengue virus circulation was observed. A few individuals had
antibodies against
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Lassa, Ebola and Marburg viruses, suggesting that these viruses all circulate in the area.