A serological survey for Bhanja virus in Czechoslovakia.

Sera of 259 persons, 801 sheep, 54 goats and 60 cows from several regions of Czechoslovakia were examined by tube-neutralization test (TNT) and haemagglutination-inhibition test (HIT) for antibodies against Bhanja virus. The results of both assays correlated well, but TNT was a more sensitive test than HIT. Antibodies neutralizing Bhanja virus were detected in 2.7% of persons, 5.1% of sheep, 18.5% of goats and 16.7% of cattle, most frequently in the district Roznava (Eastern Slovakia), where 38.5% of goats, 26.7% of sheep, 16.7% of cattle and 9.5% humans (predominantly goat or sheep breeders) were positive. A recent circulation of the virus in natural foci of that area is revealed by the detection of antibodies in several calves and lambs, which grazed in one year (1982) only. Roznava district is also unique (among the areas examined) in the presence of the tick Haemaphysalis punctata, principal vector of Bhanja virus in Europe.