Kenya's Rift Valley Fever outbreak may be waning
Source: Reuters
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever that has killed more than 120 people over the past two months may be slowing down, but neighboring countries are at risk, an international health expert said on Thursday. "We do seem to be way past the peak," Dr. Robert Breiman, head of the Global Disease Detection Division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's field office in Nairobi, said in a telephone interview. "We are not ready to say it's over." Kenya's government said on Tuesday it would spend $2.4 million on livestock vaccinations and quarantines to save its meat industry. An estimated 400,000 head of cattle have been vaccinated and the government is targeting 2 million in the affected areas and other districts prone to the epidemic. There is no vaccine and no treatment for humans. In 1997-1998, a similar outbreak in Kenya killed hundreds of people. The disease is unpleasant and highly infectious. People can catch it from animals or through mosquito bites. "The major risk is slaughtering animals," Breiman said. The virus can cause hemorrhaging, which in turn causes anemia. "Many have blood in their respiratory secretions, they vomit blood, have bloody stool. Sometimes they have bleeding gums and bloody noses," Breiman added. Heavy rainfall in Kenya at the end of last year caused flooding, which made good breeding grounds for different species of mosquitoes. "As of January 25, 2007, 404 cases of severe RVF with 118 deaths were reported. Rift Valley Fever cases in livestock have been reported from the same area," the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease. Kenyan authorities on Tuesday put the death toll at 150. The nation's Ministry of Health has launched a campaign to watch for outbreaks of the virus, quarantine and vaccinate affected animals and control the spread of mosquitoes. They are educating people on ways to look for outbreaks in their herds. When young animals die suddenly or pregnant animals miscarry, it could be a sign and people are urged not to touch dead or dying animals, Breiman said. Although it has been dry for weeks, mosquitoes could carry the virus to other areas. "It can easily spread to other countries in the region," Breiman said.
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