Madagascar: Outbreak Of Rift Valley Fever
March 11th, 2010
April 18, 2008
Windsor Genova - AHN News Writer
New York, NY (AHN) - Health authorities in Madagascar have sought help from three United Nations agencies to contain an outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley Fever that has killed 17 people and infected 59 others.
A UN press statement said Friday that officials in Madagascar have asked the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health to undertake a joint mission to the country to support their efforts to contain theviral hemorrhagic disease.
Madagascar's health ministry reported that the fatalities were from the Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinakaratra and Anosy regions. The ministry is conducting countermeasures such as case management, surveillance, social mobilization, provision of medicines, prevention and strengthening of hospital infection control.
Animal infection usually precedes human cases of RVF. The agriculture ministry detected RVF infection in livestock on April 9.
The disease is transmitted to humans through mosquitos or contact with infected material and liquids, such as animal blood during slaughtering. The uncooked milk of infected animals can also pose a risk.
No cases of human-to-human transmission of RVF have ever been reported. Aside from fever, symptoms of RVF infection are muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients develop lesions in their eyes and suffer neurological problems, liver impairment and widespread bleeding.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010688450
JOHANNESBURG, 21 April 2008 (IRIN) - Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has infected more than 400 people in Madagascar, with at least 17 fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
"An outbreak has been confirmed; it will be a big challenge to contain," Nestor Ndayimirije, Inter-Country Epidemiologist at the UN World Health Organisation's (WHO) Eastern and Southern Africa office, told IRIN.
The MoH said 59 cases had been positively identified by the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar, part of a global network devoted to medical issues and epidemiological screening in developing countries.
RVF is a viral disease that primarily affects animals but can also infect humans, so even when the disease has been removed from human populations "you still have to control the animal side," Ndayimirije explained.
RVF is usually well-established in animal populations by the time the first human cases are observed - the Ministry of Agriculture first reported cases among livestock on 9 April.
According to a WHO statement, the human cases were recorded the Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinakaratra and Anosy regions in the East of the Indian Ocean island.
A call for help
In an effort to contain the outbreak, Malagasy authorities have established an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the response and have requested assistance from the WHO, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). An outbreak has been confirmed; it will be a big challenge to contain
A joint mission of WHO, FAO and OIE representatives to support Malagasy efforts was expected to be in the country by 23 April, Ndayimirije said.
Meanwhile, Malagasy authorities have implemented control measures such as case management, surveillance, social mobilisation, provision of medicines, and prevention and strengthening of hospital infection control.
The vast majority of RVF infections in humans result from direct or indirect contact with the blood or organs of infected animals. To date, no human-to-human transmission of RVF has been documented, according to the WHO.
Human infections have also resulted from the bites of infected mosquitoes and RVF has commonly been associated with unusually heavy rainfall and flooding. Madagascar is just coming out of a particularly wet rainy reason: earlier this year cyclones Fame and Ivan brought powerful winds, heavy rains and flooding that affected over 330,000 people, of whom 190,000 lost their homes.
"While some infected people experience no detectable symptoms, others develop flu-like fever, muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients can also experience lesions in their eyes, neurological problems, liver impairment and haemorrhagic fever symptoms, including widespread bleeding," the WHO statement said.
RVF was generally confined to Sub-Saharan Africa until outbreaks were reported in Saudi Arabia and subsequently in Yemen in 2000.
http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=77846
Country Under Fresh Threat From Rift Valley Fever
Business Daily (Nairobi)
6 May 2008
By Allan Odhiambo
When it struck barely a year ago, the dreaded Rift Valley Fever left a Sh2 billion void in the country's livestock industry. And now experts are warning that the disease may hit Kenya again and other neighbouring countries.
The new warning by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) follows an acute outbreak of the viral disease on the Island of Madagascar, off the coastline of East Africa.
The latest outbreak of RVF in Madagascar was first reported by Agriculture Ministry on April 9, after successful tests on two of nine animals that were taken ill with symptoms associated with the disease around Avaradrano, Antananarivo two months earlier.
"The situation of RVF in Madagascar is very serious because the two-month delay in disease reporting may have facilitated the spread of the disease and the consequent confirmation of several human cases and deaths. This could indicate that the infection is well established in animals in this new epidemic," the experts warned in the latest issue of the emergency prevention system (EMPRES) report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Analysts said the alarm by NASA and OIE would come handy for Kenya after a serious blunder in 2006 when Government officials ignored a warning only for the country to be hit hard by an outbreak of the disease that left more than 155 people killed and more than 700 infected. North Eastern province bore the brunt of the attack with 333 cases of infections reported, closely followed by Rift Valley province with 141 cases while Coast and Central provinces recorded 14 and 13 incidents respectively.
Huge damage was also afflicted on the livestock industry where about 4,000 animals were lost prompting the State to slap a ban on livestock movements. Most consumers stopped eating livestock products, pushing thousands of dealers and suppliers out of business.
According to EMPRES, the Health Ministry in Madagascar had already reported 17 human deaths and 418 suspected infections as at mid April in areas around Alaotra, Mangoro, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinakaratra and Anosy.
The WHO has so far confirmed 59 cases of RVF through laboratory tests.
Experts are now warning that the situation in Madagascar poses a direct threat to neighbouring nations such as Kenya especially because surrounding regions in Central Africa are anticipated to witness an increase in precipitation above normal rains in the next few months - a condition that suits the spread of the disease.
"Considering that RVF outbreaks were reported in Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan in 2007, and South Africa is currently experiencing an outbreak of RVF, disease surveillance should be heightened and preparedness plans put in place throughout the Eastern part of the African continent. RVF surveillance efforts should be pursued in non affected areas since the disease can still spread," the report said.
A veterinary expert, Joseph Musaa, said unpredictable weather patterns in the country offered a room for the re-emergence of the disease and urged surveillance in main risk areas.
"It is not that we were only hit the other day so we are safe, the dangers of another attack are alive because the effects of climate change are alive and playing out," he told Business Daily.
Analysts said RVF is an arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants, camels and humans and may present itself in an uncomplicated influenza-like illness to a hemorrhagic disease attacking the liver and showing in ocular or neurological lesions.
In animals, the disease may be unclear in non-pregnant adults, but outbreaks are characterised by a large number of abortions and high neonatal mortality.
Human infections have also resulted from the bites of infected mosquitoes, most commonly the Aedes mosquito whose infected eggs can survive through desiccation for months or years and restart transmission after flooding.
Recommended preventive measures include, awareness campaigns, increased disease surveillance and controlled animal movement to prevent spread. Animal vaccination is also another strategy besides use of mosquito repellents and mosquito nets.
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200805061166.html
14 July 2008
After an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Madagascar that has already caused 20 human deaths as well as affecting livestock, two United Nations agencies have stepped in to help treat and control the disease.
Since January RVF has been reported in both animals and humans in more than 20 out of the 119 districts of Madagascar, primarily in the north, south and central highlands.
By the end of June Madagascar's Ministry of Health had reported a total of 520 human-suspected cases related to RVF, including 20 deaths. Laboratory tests have confirmed 84 human cases so far.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) have helped Malagasy authorities develop an Emergency Response Plan, which includes providing disease management for affected livestock herds and human populations at risk, reinforcing livestock disease surveillance and improving reporting systems and laboratory diagnostics.
Transmitted by mosquitoes, RVF is a dangerous disease that affects both livestock - including sheep, goats, cattle and camels - and humans, but is usually well-established in animal populations by the time the first human cases are observed.
Humans become infected through mosquito bites or direct contact with infected material and liquids such as animal blood during slaughtering, while the uncooked milk of infected animals can also pose a risk. No cases of human-to-human transmission have ever been reported.
While some infected people experience no detectable symptoms, others develop flu-like fever, muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients can also experience lesions in their eyes, neurological problems, liver impairment and haemorrhagic fever symptoms including widespread bleeding.
FAO and WHO have received a total of $376,000 from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the emergency plan, but the two agencies are appealing to international donors to help extend the programme to areas not yet covered, aiming to cover all populations at risk.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807150005.html
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