South Africa: Rift Valley Fever outbreak

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.news24.com/Content/South...6-03-2010-01-00/1_dies_from_Rift_Valley_Fever

1 dies from Rift Valley Fever
2010-03-06 13:00

Johannesburg - One human death and five further cases of Rift Valley Fever have been reported, the health department said on Saturday.

Spokesperson Fidel Hadebe said five cases were confirmed in the Free State and one in the Northern Cape thus far.

One person died from the illness in the Free State.

"It started off as an animal problem ... but it's been transferred to people ... we advise the people in affected areas to minimise contact with animals as far as possible," Hadebe said.

People can contract the illness when they are bitten by infected mosquitoes or came into contact with sick animals.

No cases of human-to-human transmission were reported, Hadebe said.

The department reacted to the illness in the "context of its normal outbreak response mechanisms", Hadebe said. It was liaising with the agriculture department as part of its response.

According to the World Health Organisation's website the disease is characterised by a "feverish syndrome with sudden onset of flu-like fever, muscle pain, joint pain and headache".

Rift Valley Fever reportedly affected at least 1 000 livestock since the outbreak in areas such as Brandfort, Soutpan and Wesselsbron in the Free State.

Earlier this week reports indicated that the Bultfontein farmers' union asked livestock brokers to stop all auctions in an attempt to curb the outbreak.

The union wants to restrain the movement of livestock within the district in an effort to avoid a general quarantine of the area, after the first outbreak of rift valley fever in the Free State in 35 years.

According to farmers many pregnant cows and ewes in the district have either aborted or died since the outbreak.

The illness was identified for the first time in South Africa in the 1950s with another outbreak in the mid-1970s.

- SAPA

 

[Shiloh]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever outbreak

Source: http://www.news24.com/Content/South...8/08-03-2010-05-02/Rift_Valley_Fever_outbreak

Rift Valley Fever outbreak
2010-03-08 17:02

Johannesburg - There were seven confirmed cases of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in the Free State and Northern Cape and one death reported, the deputy minister of health said on Monday.

"A 45-year-old patient who was admitted to a mine hospital on the 26 February 2010 with a provisional diagnosis of Congo fever, died a day later and confirmation of RVF was made on the 4th of March," said Molefi Sefularo in a statement.

"The six others, who had mild disease, continue to be under observation and treatment..."

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever outbreak

SOUTH AFRICA: Rift Valley Fever reported in two provinces
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

Date: 09 Mar 2010


JOHANNESBURG, 9 March 2010 (IRIN) - An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in two South African provinces has killed one person, while five others have tested positive for the disease, which has also caused "extensive livestock deaths", the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), said in a statement on 9 March.

As of 4 March 2010, the livestock disease - which can be transmitted to humans by handling infected animal tissue during butchering - had been reported on 14 farms in Free State and one farm in the neighbouring province of Northern Cape.

Initial estimates by veterinarians in the affected region are that more than 1,000 livestock have perished. High mortality rates are experienced among young animals and the disease causes pregnancies to be aborted.

NICD director Dr Lucille Blumberg told IRIN the authorities had responded well to the outbreak, but RVF was "difficult to control", and "lots of rain recently" had resulted in ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes - the vector of the disease.

Investigations were being carried out by the health and agricultural departments, supported by the South African Field Epidemiology and Training Programme, and NICD.

Outbreaks of RVF are common; in 2009 more than 50 animals died in KwaZulu-Natal Province, but the most serious occurrence of the disease in South Africa was between 1974 and 1976, when an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 humans were infected.

"The current outbreak is within the same area, highlighting the importance of timely interventions to prevent further spread," the NICD said.

Blumberg said the disease was "asymptomatic", or mild, in the vast majority of people, but about one percent of those infected could experience a more severe reaction.

According to the NICD website, "complications include: ocular (retinal) disease, meningo-encephalitis, [and] or haemorrhagic fever. Onset of retinal lesions usually occurs one to three weeks after the first symptoms appear, and may lead to permanent loss of vision, necessitating continual follow-up of patients for a one-month period after symptoms resolve. Disease is rarely fatal."

Molefi Sefularo, the deputy minister of health, said in a statement on 8 March that "A 45-year-old patient, who was admitted to a mine hospital on 26 February 2010 with a provisional diagnosis of Congo fever, died a day later and confirmation of RVF was made on the 4th of March."

RVF was first identified by a British veterinary surgeon in Kenya more than 50 years ago, and is endemic to South Africa and the rest of the continent, as well as the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros and Madagascar.
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