Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login
Rift Valley Fever

Last reviewed: 09-08-2007

DEADLY MOSQUITO-BORNE VIRUS


A veterinarian vaccinates cows against Rift Valley Fever in the vicinity of Garissa, 390 km (242 miles) north-east Nairobi, January 9, 2007.<br> REUTERS/Radu Sigheti.
A veterinarian vaccinates cows against Rift Valley Fever in the vicinity of Garissa, 390 km (242 miles) north-east Nairobi, January 9, 2007.
REUTERS/Radu Sigheti.
An outbreak of the highly contagious and potentially fatal Rift Valley fever killed scores of people in Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania between December 2006 and mid-2007. The most vulnerable included thousands of refugees fleeing the Somali conflict to an area near the border with Kenya.

  • The virus is spread through mosquito bites and contact with infected animals
  • Outbreaks are more likely after heavy rainfall
  • In a few cases people vomit blood or bleed to death

    People catch the virus through infected mosquitoes, or by contact with body fluids such as blood and untreated milk, and with organs of infected animals. Sheep, goats, camels and cattle are all susceptible to the virus.

    Outbreaks are more likely during a period of heavy rainfall when mosquito eggs hatch. The virus can lie dormant for years in mosquito eggs which survive long periods of drought before hatching in the rainy season.

    Most human cases are mild, and people usually recover within a week. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, phobia to light, and vomiting.

    But a few can develop haemorrhagic fever and bleed to death. This usually affects less than 1 percent of cases, according to the U.N. World Health Organisation, but has had a much higher death rate in the 2007 epidemic.

    Symptoms include severe liver disease, jaundice, vomiting blood, passing blood in the faeces, developing a rash caused by bleeding in the skin, and bleeding gums.

    There is no cure yet, although human vaccines are being developed. Animals can already be vaccinated against the virus, and this is the best form of prevention along with wearing protective clothing when handling sick animals.

    The virus was first isolated in 1930 in the Rift Valley of Kenya, and outbreaks have been detected across the continent since then. The first cases reported outside Africa were in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 2000.

    The last major outbreak was in Kenya and Somalia in 1997, when thousands were infected and hundreds died.
    Unlike some other content on this website, the written content in this article may be republished or redistributed by any means free of charge. Any use of photographs and graphics on this website is expressly prohibited. You must check whether written content contained in other articles on this website may be republished or redistributed without the express permission of Reuters or the relevant third party provider.

    • Related articles

    Breaking stories
     AFRICA: The art of predicting Rift Valley Fever outbreaks (1 minute ago)

    AlertNet insight
     Health damage from climate change has already started (1 minute ago)

    Aid agency news feed
     As Millions Flee Conflicts, Women's Refugee Commission Urges New Focus on Livelihoods for the Displaced (1 minute ago)

    Blogs
     Bali climate change talks: 'The long, arduous road' to nowhere? (1 minute ago)


    AlertNet for journalists

    AlertNet for journalists is a set of tools and services designed to make life easier for reporters, fact-checkers and editors when covering humanitarian emergencies.
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-20T131817Z_01_AFR02_RTRIDSP_2_SOMALIA-CONFLICT_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR02.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-20T131611Z_01_AFR01_RTRIDSP_2_SOMALIA-CONFLICT_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR01.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-18T100425Z_01_AFR04_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR04.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-18T100252Z_01_AFR03_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR03.htm
    Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-14T220623Z_01_AFR19_RTRIDSP_2_SOMALI-KIDNAP_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR19.htm

    Residents carry their belongings as they leave an area of renewed clashes in Somalia's capital Mogadishu July 20, 2009. Somali hardline insurgents said on Monday they would shut down the operations ...


    More pictures | Galleries

    * Denotes mandatory entry      Rate this item *  
    • Currently 4/5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5


    Name: *     Email: * 
    I am: *     


    Comments:

    Enter the code shown on the left *


    Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

    Last updated:Tue Jul 21 15:43:40 2009