Next-generation Sequencing Study of Pathogens in Serum from Patients with Febrile Jaundice in Sierra Leone

Objective: People in Western Africa suffer greatly from febrile jaundice, which is caused by a variety of pathogens. However, yellow fever virus (YFV) is the only pathogen under surveillance in Sierra Leone owing to the undeveloped medical and public health system there. Most of the results of YFV identification are negative. Elucidation of the pathogen spectrum is required to reduce the prevalence of febrile jaundice.

Methods: In the present study, we used Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing to profile the pathogen spectrum in archived YFV-negative sera from 96 patients in Sierra Leone who presented with unexplained febrile jaundice.

Results: The most frequently identified sequencing reads belonged to the following pathogens: cytomegalovirus (89.58%), Epstein-Barr virus (55.21%), hepatitis C virus (34.38%), rhinovirus (28.13%), hepatitis A virus (20.83%), coxsackievirus (10.42%), Ebola virus (8.33%), hepatitis E virus (8.33%), lyssavirus (4.17%), leptospirosis (4.17%), chikungunya virus (2.08%), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (1.04%), and hepatitis B virus (1.04%).

Conclusion: The distribution of sequencing reads suggests a broader spectrum of pathogens for consideration in clinical diagnostics and epidemiological surveillance in Sierra Leone.