WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 4: 22- 28 January 2024
Data as reported by: 17:00; 28 January 2024
...
Kenya
Rift Valley Fever
13 Cases
0 Deaths
0.0% CFR
EVENT DESCRIPTION
On 24 Jan 2024, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Kenya
issued a Rift Valley fever (RVF) alert following confirmation
through RT-PCR at CDC laboratory in Nairobi of a human
case of RVF from Marsabit County. The confirmed case
is a 38-year-old female resident of Shuur location of
Turbi ward, Saku Sub- County in Marsabit County. She
presented at the outpatient Department of Marsabit
County Referral Hospital (MCRH) and was identified
through the Acute Febrile Illness surveillance supported
by US CDC.
The primary symptom in this index case was fever of
38.7°C, and no other clinical signs were observed. The
patient had no underlying health conditions. Important to
note is that this confirmed case was among 13 suspected
RVF cases reported by the MCRH from 9 to 19 January
2024 from whom 13 blood samples were collected and
sent to CDC laboratory in Nairobi for testing and one out
13 (7.7%) samples tested came out positive for RVF.
Recent occurrence of animal deaths in Marsabit and
Wajir Counties further support that an outbreak was likely
occurring in the areas before the confirmation of the
human case. Additionally, between December 2023 and
19 January 2024 there have been reports of suspected
RVF cases in livestock in the Mandera, Wajir, Garissa,
Marsabit, and Tana River counties. The Department
of Veterinary services has also reported serological
evidence of both IgG and IgM antibodies in livestock
in Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Tana River and Wajir
counties.
In December 2023, routine RVF surveillance led to
collection of 275 animal samples that were submitted for
screening at the Regional Veterinary Laboratory. Out of
the 275 samples analyzed, 52 were positive for IgG and
one sample for IgM signifying active infection within the
animal population.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
The Ministry of Health issued a RVF alert to
all County Directors of Health highlighting
the importance of early detection, laboratory
confirmation and management of suspected
cases.
The national and county Emergency Operations
Centres have been activated with a functional
Incident Management System that have deployed
a Rapid Response Teams to conduct rapid
assessment of the outbreak in Marsabit and Wajir.
The national government is working closely with
affected county governments with financial and
technical support from several partners and WHO
to effectively respond to the outbreak.
County departments of health have started
responding to the outbreak by identifying critical
and life-threatening gaps, triggering one health
multisectoral coordination mechanisms, and
reviewing the response interventions.
Sensitization activities for the community and
animal breeders on Rift Valley fever are ongoing.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
Rift valley fever is endemic in Kenya with recurrent
outbreaks in animals and humans reported. The
major outbreaks in humans the country experienced
was in 1997 with about 89 000 human infections and
170 human deaths reported in Garissa County and
Southern Somali. Like other RVF outbreaks reported
in Africa, the disease exposure factors frequently
identified include but not limited to the breeder
profession, the non-use of mosquito nets, contact or
manipulation of tissues of suspect animals and the
transhumance lifestyle. For the current outbreak, the
increased livestock trade due to festive season or
as an adaptation to the climate hazards or flooding
may have potential to introduce infections in rather
naive or healthy animal herds. Low knowledge and
lack of awareness on the causes, transmission,
clinical symptoms, and management of RVF at the
community level are also reported for the current
outbreak. There is a need for additional resources to
scale up response activities.
https://www.afro.who.int/countries/...ergencies-bulletin-week-04-22-28-january-2024
