Kenyan death toll from fatal fever rises to 95
Source: Reuters
NAIROBI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in Kenya has risen to 95 people, a government spokesman said on Thursday. The contagious disease hit remote areas of Kenya's north eastern and coastal provinces in mid-December and has since spread to neighbouring Somalia. The country has recorded nearly 60 new human infections since the end of last week. "The government has already spent 100 million shillings ($1.43 million) to provide medical care for affected areas, and two million heads of cattle have already been vaccinated," Alfred Mutua, the government's spokesman told a news conference. Health officials at the Kenyan Dadaab refugee camp, a densely populated camp near the border with Somalia, said 29 cases including five deaths had been reported by Thursday. The disease is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites or frequent contact with contaminated animals. Although transmission from animals to humans is rare, the disease develops into a much more severe illness once it crosses over causing victims to abort, vomit blood or bleed to death. The World Health Organisation has said a dilapidated infrastructure in the areas worst hit would make treatment difficult and feared the disease would spread quickly. The government asked people to avoid contact with animals, especially cows, to use mosquito nets and take extra care with their personal hygiene. A similar outbreak in 1997-1998 killed hundreds of people in Kenya.
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