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Viral zoonosis
- Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and blood feeding flies. In humans, the disease ranges from a mild flu-like illness to severe haemorrhagic fever that can be lethal.
www.who.int/health-topics/rift-valley-fever
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Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease of humans and livestock that can cause mild to severe symptoms. The mild symptoms may include: fever, muscle pains, and headaches which often last for up to a week.
- Transmission in Humans
- Clinical Features in Humans
- Outbreaks That Have occurred Since 2000
- Diagnosis
- Treatment and Vaccines
- RVF Virus in Host Animals
- Ecology and Mosquito Vectors
- Prevention and Control
- Vector Control
- Who Response
The majority of human infections result from direct or indirect contact with the blood or organs of infected animals. The virus can be transmitted to humans through the handling of animal tissue during slaughtering or butchering, assisting with animal births, conducting veterinary procedures, or from the disposal of carcasses or fetuses. Certain oc...
Mild form of RVF in humans
The following are clinical features of the mild form of RVF in humans: 1. The incubation period (the interval from infection to onset of symptoms) for RVF varies from 2 to 6 days. 2. Those infected either experience no detectable symptoms or develop a mild form of the disease characterized by a feverish syndrome with sudden onset of flu-like fever, muscle pain, joint pain and headache. Some patients develop neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and vomiting; in these patients...
Severe form of RVF in humans
While most human cases are relatively mild, a small percentage of patients develop a much more severe form of the disease. This usually appears as 1 or more of 3 distinct syndromes: ocular (eye) disease (0.5–2% of patients), meningoencephalitis (less than 1% of patients) or haemorrhagic fever (less than 1% of patients). The following are clinical features of the severe form of RVF in humans: 1. Ocular form:In this form of the disease, the usual symptoms associated with the mild form of the di...
Severe form of RVF in humans 2016, Republic of Niger:As of 11 October 2016, Ministry of Health reported 105 suspected cases including 28 deaths of RVF in humans in Tahoua region. 2012 Republic of Mauritania: The Ministry of Health in Mauritania declared an outbreak of RVF on 4 October 2012. From 16 September 2012 (the date of onset of the index cas...
Because the symptoms of Rift Valley fever are varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult, especially early in the course of the disease. Rift Valley fever is difficult to distinguish from other viral haemorrhagic fevers as well as many other diseases that cause fever, including malaria, shigellosis, typhoid fever, and yellow fev...
As most human cases of RVF are relatively mild and of short duration, no specific treatment is required for these patients. For the more severe cases, the predominant treatment is general supportive therapy. An inactivated vaccine has been developed for human use. However, this vaccine is not licensed and is not commercially available. It has been ...
RVF is able to infect many species of animals causing severe disease in domesticated animals including cattle, sheep, camels and goats. Sheep and goats appear to be more susceptible than cattle or camels. Age has also been shown to be a significant factor in the animal's susceptibility to the severe form of the disease: over 90% of lambs infected w...
Several different species of mosquito are able to act as vectors for transmission of the RVF virus. The dominant vector species varies between different regions and different species can play different roles in sustaining the transmission of the virus. Among animals, the RVF virus is spread primarily by the bite of infected mosquitoes, mainly the A...
Controlling RVF in animals
Outbreaks of RVF in animals can be prevented by a sustained programme of animal vaccination. Both modified live attenuated virus and inactivated virus vaccines have been developed for veterinary use. Only 1 dose of the live vaccine is required to provide long-term immunity but this vaccine may result in spontaneous abortion if given to pregnant animals. The inactivated virus vaccine does not have this side effect, but multiple doses are required in order to provide protection which may prove...
Public health education and risk reduction
During an outbreak of RVF, close contact with animals, particularly with their body fluids, either directly or via aerosols, has been identified as the most significant risk factor for RVF virus infection. Raising awareness of the risk factors of RVF infection as well as the protective measures individuals can take to prevent mosquito bites is the only way to reduce human infection and deaths. Public health messages for risk reduction should focus on: 1. reducing the risk of animal-to-human t...
Infection control in health care settings
Although no human-to-human transmission of RVF has been demonstrated, there is still a theoretical risk of transmission of the virus from infected patients to healthcare workers through contact with infected blood or tissues. Healthcare workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed RVF should implement Standard Precautions when handling specimens from patients. Standard Precautions define the work practices that are required to ensure a basic level of infection control. Standard Pre...
Other ways in which to control the spread of RVF involve control of the vector and protection against their bites. Larviciding measures at mosquito breeding sites are the most effective form of vector control if breeding sites can be clearly identified and are limited in size and extent. During periods of flooding, however, the number and extent of...
For the 2016, Niger outbreak, WHO sent a multisectoral national rapid response team, including members from the Ministry of Health, veterinary services and Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire (CERMES). The unit was deployed for field investigation on 31 August 2016. In Niger, the WHO Country Office provides technical and financial support for...
Aug 22, 2023 · Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a notifiable condition. Human-to-human transmission has not been demonstrated; however, standard precautions should still be implemented. Majority of patients are asymptomatic; however, patients may have a mild, self-limited illness with fever and liver abnormalities.
May 14, 2024 · Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is caused by a virus carried by mosquitoes that can spread to livestock or people. People get RVF through contact with blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals. People also get RVF through bites from infected mosquitoes.
Jan 27, 2023 · Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and blood feeding flies. In humans, the disease ranges from a mild flu-like illness to severe haemorrhagic fever that can be lethal.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a disease of domestic ruminants, caused by an arbovirus belonging to the Phlebovirus genus (Bunyaviridae family). The RVF virus was first identified in 1931 during an investigation into an epidemic among sheep on a farm in the Rift Valley in Kenya.
Aug 26, 2014 · There has never been a known case of Rift Valley fever in Great Britain. Rift Valley fever is a notifiable animal disease. If you suspect it you must report it immediately by calling the...
