Rift Valley fever

• Countries with endemic occurrence and relevant outbreaks: Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
• Countries with few cases of disease, sporadic isolation of the pathogen or serological evidence of infection: Botswana, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia

The Rift Valley fever (English Rift Valley fever, RVF ) is a by Phleboviren ( family Bunyaviridae ) -induced hemorrhagic fever in ruminants. The disease can cause human flu-like illness that can run infrequently fatal. The Rift Valley fever is a zoonosis that is. It is a notifiable disease.

Occurrence

The Rift Valley fever has been first described in 1913 in the homonymous valley ( Rift Valley) in Kenya as a disease. In 1931 there was a first major epidemic and since then the disease throughout Africa south of the Sahara has spread. Individual cases have been reported also from the Arabian Peninsula. The virus was originally a ruminant disease (sheep, goats, cattle, camels, antelopes ), but by various mosquitoes (especially Culex and Aedes species) can also be transmitted to humans.

In Europe, the disease has not been observed.

Over recent cases informed the World Health Organization.

Clinical picture in ruminants

In young animals, the disease is most dramatic with high fever, anorexia, weakness, and is fatal in 70% of animals. Occasionally, diarrhea and nasal discharge and bloody. Adult animals show less strong gradients. In pregnant animals, it is usually to miscarriage. In cattle, the disease is milder than in sheep.

Severe necrosis of the liver is typical of the disease.

Clinic in humans

Human infections usually occur in the context of animal epidemics. The virus can be either on the air as well as by direct contact with infected animals, for example at the time of slaughter is transmitted. The incubation period is between three and 12 days; from the fourth day of illness is possible serological determination of the virus.

The disease symptoms include high fever, headache and muscle pain and rarely hepatitis. In approximately 1% of patients develop after a few days to a pronounced hemorrhagic fever with hepatitis and frequently fatal. After the fever subsided, occurs in some patients on a usually fatal meningitis ( meningitis) or an inflammation of the retina ( retinitis ), which can lead to blindness.

A curative treatment option of Rift Valley fever exists yet (possibly ribavirin that is effective in animal studies ), so a preventive protection (exposure prophylaxis) is strongly advised against insect bites in endemic areas. There are effective and well tolerated vaccines for both humans and animals available. But they are not currently approved in Germany.

Combat

After IfSG diseases and deaths must be reported by Rift Valley fever. The rules on notifiable diseases ( TierSeuchAnzV ), a disease is a notifiable disease in animals.