East Africa: EAC Set for Urgent Meet Over Rift Valley Fever

[Snowy Owl]

East Africa: EAC Set for Urgent Meet Over
Rift Valley Fever
http://allafrica.com/stories/200702201090.html
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Deogratius Joseph

Dar Es Salaam
The East African Community (EAC) has organised a meeting for health and livestock experts to discuss the dangers posed by Rift Valley Fever (RVF).

The EAC deputy secretary general Dr. Kipyego Cheluget told journalists last week that the EAC Council of Ministers had approved the convening of an annual regional health conference and medical exhibition that should rotate around the national capitals of each of the EAC partner states.

Cheluget said the 1stEast African Health and Scientific conference will take place from March 28 -30 at the Serena International Conference Centre in Kampala, Uganda.

The theme of the conference will be "Responding to Health Challenges in East Africa".

The sub-themes will be; Human Resources for Health and Quality of Care, Linking Health Research to Policy and Practice; and Combating Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases such as Avian Influenza( Bird Flu) and Rift Valley Viral Hemorrhagic Fever).

"We are proud to be associated with this event. The theme is most appropriate and timely," he said. It is recognised that health issues have dimensions cutting across national, regional and international levels. The challenge is not only to ensure the provisions of health for all, but also to look into the quality and efficacy of the health services provided.

Cheluget said there is need to establish adequate resource availability for health care insight of dwindling resource availability and mounting disease burden, including the recent re-emergence of various disease of epidemic potential such as the Rift Valley Viral Hemorrhagic Fever and the current threat of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu).

The outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever in Tanzania has killed at least four people in Manyara, Arusha, and Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions in the past three weeks.

In Kenya, the RVF death tolls stands at 148 people, in addition to thousands of livestock since it was first reported last year.

Following the outbreak, Tanzania early last week placed a temporary ban on livestock from Kenya while Kenya has spent US$ 100,000 on providing medical care.

It has also asked Kenyans to avoid direct contact with animals, use mosquito nets and exercise basic hygiene.

The disease primarily infects livestock, but humans can also catch the virus from mosquito bites or exposure to blood, raw milk or other fluids from infected animals.

Most people do not get very sick but some develop a brain infection or hemorrhagic fever that causes shock and bleeding and can be fatal.

There is no specific treatment for the disease, neither is there a vaccine.
Many Dar es Salaam residents have now resorted to fresh fish.