Rift valley fever overview
|
Rift valley fever Microchapters |
|
Diagnosis |
|---|
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Rift valley fever overview On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Rift valley fever overview |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Rift valley fever overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aakash Hans, MD[2]
Overview
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute, fever-causing viral disease that affects domestic animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) and humans. RVF is most commonly associated with mosquito-borne epidemics during years of unusually heavy rainfall.
Historical Perspective
The disease was first reported among livestock in Kenya around 1915, but the virus was not isolated until 1931. RVF outbreaks occur across sub-Saharan Africa, with outbreaks occurring elsewhere infrequently (but sometimes severely - in Egypt in 1977-78, several million people were infected and thousands died during a violent epidemic. In Kenya in 1998, the virus claimed the lives of over 400 Kenyans. In September 2000 an outbreak was confirmed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen).