By: Coreena Luna

• Viral Zoonotic disease

• Affects primarily livestock

(cattle, sheep, goats, camels, etc.)

• Can be transmitted to humans

• First discovered in the Rift Valley of Kenya in 1931

• Kenya is located on the equator, on the coast of East Africa, bordering the Indian ocean; between the countries Tanzania and Somalia.

• As of July 2013, Kenya’s population: 44,037,656

• Environmental Issues: water pollution from industrial wastes, deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, and poaching.

• Other issues: chronic budget deficits, inflation, sharp currency depreciation, high rates of unemployment.

• Rate of infectious disease is high in Kenya• Bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hep. A, typhoid

fever, malaria, dengue fever, rift valley fever, and schistosmiasis.

• Causative agent: The Rift Valley Fever Virus

• Genus: Phlebovirus

• Family: Bunyaviridae• A family of enveloped negative strand RNA viruses

• RVF is an arborvirus which means it is transmitted by arthropod (insects, arachnids, centipedes, crustaceans) vectors and vertebrates

• Transmitted by mosquito vectors to livestock

• Transmission to humans is usually through direct or indirect contact with blood or other bodily fluids of infected animals

• Outbreaks are precipitated by heavy rainfall which boosts the mosquito vector population

• Fever

• Listlessness

• Weight loss

• Loss of Appetite

• Bloody Diarrhea

• Increased respiratory rate

• Blood tinged nasal discharge

• Majority have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all

• Flu like symptoms: fever, headache, muscle pain, joint

pain, etc.

• Other symptoms that may occur are neck stiffness,

sensitivity to light, loss of appetite, and vomiting

• Symptoms usually last 4 to 7 days

• The virus infects humans through inoculation, for

example via a wound from an infected knife or through

contact with broken skin, or through inhalation of

aerosols produced during the slaughter of infected

animals.

• Caused by a cytopathic virus that targets the liver and the

brain

• It is suspected that the virus moves from the skin to

draining lymph nodes, where it replicates and spreads

throughout the body.

• It may also cross the blood-brain barrier and infect

neurons and glia, leading to meningoencephalitis and

retinitis two to three weeks after onset of infection

• A small percentage of patients develop a much more

severe form of the disease. This usually appears as one

or more of three distinct syndromes:

• Ocular (eye) disease (0.5-2% of patients)

• Meningoencephalitis (<1%)

• Hemorrhagic fever (<1%).

Mild form of the disease accompanied by retinal

lesions.

Retinal lesions develop 1-3 weeks after initial

symptoms

Prognosis is good

Majority will make a full recovery

Depending on where the lesions are, the patient

may suffer permanent loss of vision.

• Usually occurs 1 to 4 weeks after first onset of symptoms

• Classic symptoms: • Intense headache

• Memory loss

• Hallucinations

• Confusion

• Disorientation

• Vertigo

• Convulsions

• Lethargy and coma

• Death rate is low, neurological complications can occur, and neurological deficit (which may be severe) is common.

• Symptoms of this form of the disease appear 2-4 days

after the onset of illness

• Symptoms include:

• Evidence of severe liver impairment (jaundice)

• Signs of hemorrhage (vomiting blood, passing blood in the feces,

purpuric rash or ecchymoses (from bleeding under the skin),

bleeding from the nose or gums, menhorragia and bleeding from

venepuncture sites

• Case-fatality ratio is 50%

• Prognosis in humans is good

• In livestock, it is more deadly, especially in young

• Causes abortion in livestock at any point in gestation

• 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. With that said, obviously, certain occupations put you at higher risk of getting Rift Valley Fever:• Veterinarian, farmer, rancher, butcher, working at a

slaughterhouse, etc.

• Eating raw food or food that not fully cooked

• Drinking unpasteurized or uncooked milk

• Location• Outbreaks tend to occur in Eastern and Southern AfricaTo date

there have been no outbreaks in urban areas

• Immunizing animals against RVF

• Restricting or banning the movement of animals during

an outbreak

• There is a health surveillance system in place to detect

new cases in animals

• Early detection of the disease helps to prevent outbreaks

and the transmission of the disease to humans.

• Wearing gloves and other appropriate protective clothing

when handling sick animals or their tissues OR when

slaughtering animals

• Do not consume raw food or milk. All animal products

should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.

• Protection against mosquito bites through the use of:

• mosquito nets

• Insect repellent

• wearing long sleeved shirts and pants (allowing as little skin

exposure as possible)

• by avoiding outdoor activity at peak biting times