South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

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Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

<CENTER>Nine deaths from Rift Valley fever </CENTER>
11 April 2010

A total of 111 laboratory confirmed human cases of Rift Valley fever (RVF) have been reported by the National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) laboratory. Nine people have died since the first incident on 13 February 2010.
Of the 111 cases, 81 cases and five deaths are from Free State, seven from the Eastern Cape, and 22 cases and four deaths are from Northern Cape and one from North West.

/.../

http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2010/10041208551003.htm

 

[Shiloh]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Source: http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/160410/south_africa___rift_valley_fever_in_the_karoo_.aspx

South Africa - Rift Valley Fever in the Karoo

16 Apr 2010
State Vets from the Eastern Cape?s agriculture department confirmed a Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak in the Middleburg and Hofmeyr regions and issued a veterinary quarantine notice for these areas.
This limits movement of sheep, goats and cattle, unless authorised by written permit from a state vet...

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Rift Valley Fever claims 9 lives
2010-04-17 15:08


Johannesburg - Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has claimed the lives of nine people in South Africa, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

Spokesperson Charity Bhengu said in a statement that five of the people were from the Free State and the others from the Northern Cape.

She said a total of 139 confirmed RVF cases have been reported by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases since February 13.

Bhengu said those who had contracted the disease were farmers, veterinarians and farm workers.

She said direct contact with RVF-infected livestock and links to farms with confirmed animal cases were the main risk factors for contracting the infection.

Symptoms of the virus include a sudden onset of flu-like fever, muscle pain, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and vomiting.

In more severe forms, symptoms can also include intense headaches, convulsions, haemorrhage fever and coma. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes outbreaks of abortion and deaths of young livestock such as sheep, goats and cattle.

"It is important to note that, humans become infected from contact with infected tissues of livestock and less frequently from mosquito bites," Bhengu said.

"The disease occurs throughout Africa and Madagascar when exceptionally heavy rains favour the breeding of the mosquito vectors," she said.


- SAPA

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Rift-Valley-Fever-claims-9-lives-20100417

 

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Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

<CENTER>Two more people die from Rift Valley Fever (RVF)</CENTER>
22 April 2010

Six additional cases ? five from Free State and one from Northern Cape - of Rift Valley fever (RVF) have been reported by the South African National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) Laboratory. The total number of laboratory confirmed human cases of RVF is now 149 since the first incident on 13 February 2010.

The number of deaths has also increased from nine to 11.

Of 149 cases, 100 cases and 7 deaths are from Free State, 38 cases and 4 deaths are from Northern Cape, 8 cases from Eastern Cape, I case is from North West and 2 cases whose history is still unknown.

The majority of cases have had mild flu-like symptoms and have not developed complications. There is no vaccine for humans or specific treatment. The risk of disease is to persons having direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals and the majority of people affected have been persons working on farms, veterinary workers and slaughter men.

There is no human to human spread. Mosquitoes are important in transmission of the virus from animal to animal but not in transmission to humans in the South African outbreak as the mosquitoes involved prefer feeding on animals and don?t generally feed indoors. The disease is generally seen on farms, and not in the cities other than related to the occasional informal slaughter of infected animals.

The eating of well cooked meat poses no risk, nor does the drinking of pasteurised milk. It is likely that the number of animal cases and therefore human will decrease as the weather gets cooler. An animal vaccination programme on farms and suspected areas has been affected by the

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, to protect livestock.
Visitors coming to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup are not at risk unless they handle infected carcasses on farms or handle raw meat from infected animals. It is highly unlikely that visitors would be involved in these activities.
The formal meat supply is well controlled and affected animals are excluded from the food chain in abattoirs. There is no risk to visitors to Game Parks as the disease typically only affects ruminants such as sheep, cattle and goats.
/.../

http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2010/10042211351001.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Cape woman dies of RVF
2010-04-28 19:18

Johannesburg - One person has died of Rift Valley Fever in the Western Cape, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday.

An official at the NICD said the person was from the Oudtshoorn area.

Further details would be released by the health department at a later date.

-snip-
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Cape-woman-dies-of-RVF-20100428

 

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Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

<CENTER>Rift Valley Fever (RVF) claims another life</CENTER>
29 April 2010

Another patient from the Free State Province has died increasing the total number of people who have died from RVF to 14 since the first incident on 13 February 2010. Of these reported mortalities, seven are from Free State, six from Northern Cape and one from Western Cape.

A total of 164 laboratory confirmed human RVF cases has also been reported by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) Laboratory 103 from Free State, 48 from Northern Cape, nine from Eastern Cape, one from North West, one from Western Cape and two additional cases whose history is still unknown.

The NICD is confident that the number of animal cases and therefore human cases are likely to decrease as the weather gets cooler.
The majority of human cases have had mild flu-like symptoms and have not developed complications. There is no human to human spread. The risk of disease is to persons having direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals and the majority of people affected have been persons working on farms, veterinary workers and slaughter men.

/.../
http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2010/10042914551003.htm


***************************
Also see: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Another-RVF-death-in-Free-State-20100429

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

First Fatal Rift Valley fever case in Western Cape

Submitted by editor on May 2, 2010 - 09:41 The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed today that a 49-year old male from the Karoo has been the first human to die from Rift Valley fever in the Western Cape. He died in Oudtshoorn Hospital. The NICD is still investigating the patients source of exposure. It is unsure in which manner he contracted the disease. There have been confirmed cases of Rift Valley fever in animals in the Oudtshoorn area.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture also confirmed today that two alpacas have died from Rift Valley fever on a farm in Simondium, outside Paarl in the Western Cape. This is the latest confirmed case of Rift Valley fever in animals in the province, and also the first case in the south western part of the Western Cape province. Western Cape Health Minister, Theuns Botha, said that health workers at hospitals and provincial health facilities in the Karoo and Boland have been alerted to lookout for symptoms of Rift Valley fever among patients who visit their facilities. Symptoms among humans include flu-like fever, muscle pain, joint pain and headache. People, who have been exposed to raw meat sourced from possible infected animals, can be at risk, as well as people who have consumed unpasteurised milk from potentially infected animals.

Botha added that this is not a disease that can spread from human to human, but only when humans are exposed to the blood of potentially infected animals, or the unpasteurised milk of potentially infected animals.

Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, reiterated that all livestock farmers in the province should vaccinate their animals against this disease, as prevention is the only effective management measure. He said that winter is upon us, and that the cooler weather should see to a decline in mosquito activity and the subsequent prevalence of Rift Valley fever. Nonetheless: Rather be safe than sorry, Van Rensburg added.

The Department of Agriculture suspects that the movement of infected animals could have been the cause of the diseases appearance in the Paarl area. According to the Department of Agriculture, this is an isolated case.

Van Rensburg said that the Department of Agriculture is working hand in hand with the Department of Health on all matters pertaining to Rift Valley fever, as animal cases will most likely be the precursor to possible human cases.

To date, animal cases of Rift Valley fever have been contained to the northern parts of the Western Cape and two isolated cases in the Oudtshoorn area.

Three laboratory confirmed incidents of Rift Valley fever have so far been reported: two heads of cattle north of Beaufort West; 11 sheep in the Nelspoort area, and 25 sheep and 45 abortions in the Murraysburg area. Clinically identified, but laboratory unconfirmed, animal mortalities include 200 sheep and 100 ewe abortions in the Beaufort West, Murraysburg and Oudtshoorn areas.

Visit http://www.oie.int for more information on the spread of the disease in animals.

Media enquiries:

Helene Rossouw, Media Liaison, Western Cape Ministry of Health

Tel: 021 483 4426

Cell: 082 771 8834

Fax: 021 483 4143

E-mail: herossou@pgwc.gov.za

Wouter Kriel, Agriculture

Cell: 079 694 3085

Tel: 021 483 4700

E-mail: wouterkriel@gmail.com

Jointly issued by: Departments of Health and of Agriculture and Rural Development, Western Cape Provincial Government

28 April 2010

Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
South Africa
http://www.webnewswire.com/node/530109

 

[Shiloh]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Source: http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article.aspx?pDesc=125200,1,22

Published: 4/05/2010 21:08:36

Institute reports two new cases of Rift Valley Fever in SA

HEALTH REPORTER

JOHANNESBURG - Two new cases of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) were reported by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday.

A 34-year-old man from Britstown in the Northern Cape was infected with RVF after direct contact with animal tissue, said health department spokesman Charity Bhengu.

The NICD said the onset of the infection was on April 25. No complications had been noted.

?The second person is a 21-year-old female from Verkeerdevlei, Free State, who was also infected as a result of contact with animal tissue and drinking unpasteurised milk,? said Bhengu.

The NICD reported that the onset of the infection started with vomiting on April 22 and no further complications had been noted.

?This brings the total to 166 laboratory confirmed human RVF cases,? she said.

The Free State has 105 cases of RVF, there are 48 in the Northern Cape, nine in the Eastern Cape, one in the Western Cape and one in North West.

Two additional cases have been reported, but their history is still unknown.

A total of 15 people have died from RVF.

Bhengu said most of the human cases had mild flu-like symptoms and had not developed complications.

?There is no human-to-human spread,? she said.

The risk of the disease is greater for people who have direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals.

Many of the infected have been farm workers, veterinary workers and slaughtermen.
healthnews@citizen.co.za

 

[Twall]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Fao just published these confirmed cases
http://empres-i.fao.org/rss/region/Africa

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Eastern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle, goats/sheep )

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in North-west, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle, goats, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Free State, for domestic mammal (cattle, sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (cattle)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

20/04/2010: South Africa - Rift Valley fever
Today, May 05, 2010, 4 minutes ago
Confirmed Rift Valley fever in Northern Cape, for domestic mammal (sheep)

 

[Shiloh]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Source: http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=402594

Rift Valley fever spreads to areas close to Mandela Bay

2010/05/18

DEADLY Rift Valley fever is spreading rapidly in the Eastern Cape and has reached as close to Nelson Mandela Bay as Humansdorp and the Tsitsikamma area.

Senior manager and director for veterinary services in the Eastern Cape, Dr Cedisa Mnqeta, said there were now 45 farms in the province which had tested positive for the fever and more test results were outstanding.

There have also been eight confirmed human cases in the province.

Rift Valley fever can be spread to humans by handling animals and their blood, and by mosquitos.

The latest outbreak of the disease has just been confirmed on a Tsitsikamma dairy farm and the Eastern Cape Veterinary Services believe this outbreak is potentially very serious as it is unlikely mosquitoes will die out over winter in this area.

Mnqeta confirmed that farms which tested positive for Rift Valley fever are in the Cradock, Humansdorp, Middelburg, Hofmeyr, Steynsburg, Graaff- Reinet, Jansenville and Tsitsikamma areas. Of the eight confirmed human cases, two were veterinary services staff members, five were farm workers who worked with animals and one was a township resident suspected of coming into contact with diseased meat.

There are almost 200 confirmed cases in the country.

Agri Eastern Cape has warned farmers to take preventative measures, such a vaccinating livestock to prevent the disease from spreading, which would impact negatively on the province?s agricultural economy.

The manager of veterinary services in the western region of the Eastern Cape, Dr Jane Pistorius, said it was important that farmers vaccinate their stock, even in areas to which the disease is not expected to spread .

She expressed concern that many farmers did not report possible outbreaks of the disease because of the fact that China had stopped importing SA wool because of the disease. ? The Herald, Avusa Group News

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

Tribute to young vet who died of Rift fever

2010/06/21
Barbara Hollands EAST LONDON CORRESPONDENT hollandsb@avusa.co.za





SAD LOSS: Cradock state veterinarian Dr Anje Pretorius, 27, loved animals and fought hard to combat Rift Valley fever, but died from the disease.



A KABEGA Park church was filled to overflowing this week as grief- stricken family and friends paid their last tributes to a beautiful young Cradock veterinarian who died of Rift Valley fever.
Former Framesby High School headgirl Dr Anje Pretorius, 27, died at Port Elizabeth?s St George?s Hospital last week after a 24-day coma, dashing hopes she would recover from the disease she fought so hard to combat as Cradock?s state vet.
Vets from all over South Africa who had studied with Anje in Pretoria flew down for her funeral and a Facebook page dedicated to the cheerful young woman is brimming with tributes.
Speaking to Weekend Post, her devastated father, Cobus Pretorius, of Van der Stel, PE, said his beloved daughter had taken the utmost precaution when carrying out autopsies on farm animals suspected of being infected with the disease.
Pretorius said she had been ?scared? of contracting Rift Valley fever, which can be passed on to humans who come into contact with the tissue of infected animals. He said she had complained of flu symptoms but tests had repeatedly come back negative for the disease, which is spread among animals by mosquitoes.
?She would wear a monster protective suit and three sets of gloves when she was doing autopsies on animals suspected of dying of Rift Valley fever. She was worried she would get it and when she got flu she was tested, but the results came back negative,? he said.
Struggling to fight back tears, Pretorius described how he would phone his daughter twice a day to tell her he loved her, but when he called her on May 15 she sounded incoherent and slurred.
?I immediately drove to Cradock, but when I got there someone had taken her to hospital and she was already in a coma. We had to wait for an ambulance to come from Graaff-Reinet and take her to PE.?
His said he and his wife, Marina, and son Marco, 29, were ?devastated? when Anje was declared brain dead and her life support switched off on June 11.
?People all over South Africa were praying for her and we really believed she would come out of the coma. I visited her up to six times a day at St George?s.
?Every morning at 5am I would run in there full of hope and we all prayed there would be a change.?
Pretorius said his daughter, who graduated from Onderstepoort at the University of Pretoria in 2008, had wanted to be a vet since primary school. ?She loved her job in Cradock and the farmers there really loved her. She was a star, a packet of energy, and we are so proud of her. I loved her very, very much.?
Anje?s older brother Marco said he had been very close to his sister.
?The NG Kerk Nooitgedacht in Kabega Park was packed and there were even people standing in the foyer. Everyone was very emotional, but we gave her the right send- off and played some of her favourite songs like Frank Sinatra?s My Way and Michael Buble?s Home.
Marco has set up a Facebook page titled ?In Loving Memory of Anje Pretorius?.
?She was crazy about Facebook and she would have appreciated it.?
He said Anje and their mother Marina had been ?soul mates? and that his mother was ?sad but at peace?.
Anje?s close friend, Linton Grange vet Adel de Haast, said she had urged their former Onderstepoort university friends to wear high heels to her funeral as a tribute to Anje who had been ?very, very glamorous and always wore heels?.
?She only put on her gumboots when it was really necessary and she always looked perfect. She was a wonderful vet and a unique person who was always laughing. She always saw the good in everyone and was never down.?
?It was so hard to see her in the coma, but I really thought she?d make it, because only about 2% of humans who contract this disease die of it. It was such a shock when she passed away. We all thought she?d wake up.?
The Eastern Cape now has 17 confirmed human cases of Rift Valley fever. South Africa has 221 human cases of the disease, which has claimed 23 lives nationally.

http://www.weekendpost.co.za/article.aspx?id=576036

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: South Africa: Rift Valley Fever wreaks havoc in Free State

INTERIM REPORT ON THE RIFT VALLEY FEVER (RVF) OUTBREAK IN SOUTH AFRICA

Data and information last updated: 25 July 2010

Report issued by: The Outbreak Response Unit, Special Pathogens Unit, and South African Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (SAFELTP), National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). In collaboration with the South African Department of Health and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Case summary:

Investigations to obtain a detailed history on all confirmed cases are ongoing, and all data presented here is thus preliminary and subject to change. We are able to provide the following information based on data collected to date. As of 21 July 2010, we have confirmed a total of 229 human cases and 26 deaths (Table 1). Cases range in age from 1 ? 86 years (median 43 years), and the majority (86%, 196/229) are male.

Table 1: Number of laboratory-confirmed RVF cases and deaths by province, South Africa
<TABLE border=1 cellSpacing=1 borderColor=#000066 cellPadding=1 width=283><TBODY><TR><TD width="35%">Province (place exposed) </TD><TD width="31%">

Cases

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

Deaths

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Eastern Cape </TD><TD width="31%">

17

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

1

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Free State </TD><TD width="31%">

123

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

11

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Gauteng </TD><TD width="31%">

0

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

0

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">KwaZulu-Natal </TD><TD width="31%">

0

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

0

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Limpopo </TD><TD width="31%">

0

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

0

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Mpumalanga </TD><TD width="31%">

0

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

0

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Northern Cape </TD><TD width="31%">

75

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

11

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">North West </TD><TD width="31%">

9

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

2

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Western Cape </TD><TD width="31%">

4

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

1

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">Unknown </TD><TD width="31%">

1

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

-

​

</TD></TR><TR><TD width="35%">South Africa Total </TD><TD width="31%">

229

​

</TD><TD width="34%">

26

​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

Occupation and exposure
http://www.nicd.ac.za/​