Uganda's
health ministry has reported a Rift Valley fever outbreak involving two
of its districts, and Rwanda is reporting the disease in animals along
with suspected human cases, events that are occurring alongside an
ongoing outbreak in Kenya, the World Health Organization (WHO) African
regional office said yesterday in its latest weekly outbreak report.
The
outbreaks pose a threat to other countries in the region, especially
East Africa, which is experiencing heavy rains, according to the WHO.
Livestock
contract the virus from mosquitoes, and though humans can be infected
by mosquitoes, the virus is more commonly passed by contact with blood
or organs of infected animals or drinking milk from sick ones.
Uganda cases in 'cattle corridor'
In
Uganda, two unrelated cases were confirmed on Jun 28 in two separate
districts in the western part of the country. Both involve men who had
exposure to animals. One patient is a 47-year-old butcher who got sick
on Jun 20 and died at home the following evening. Health officials
collected a postmortem sample and sent it to the Uganda Virus Research
Institute (UVRI).
The second patient is a laborer and herder whose
symptoms began on Jun 25. He was hospitalized and isolated the
following day because of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever. Samples were
collected during hospitalization and sent to the UVRI. The man died on
Jun 30, and a safe burial was performed, the WHO said.
Another
confirmed case has been reported from a third district, but the WHO said
it is awaiting more information about the illness. Two other suspected
cases are under investigation, and animal samples have been collected
from the farm where one of the patients worked and from the
slaughterhouse where the other worked.
Uganda's government has
deployed a rapid response team to the affected districts, established an
isolation unit at Mbarara Regional Hospital as the main treatment
center, and prepared district hospitals to handle cases.
The WHO
said the affected districts are in the "cattle corridor" that stretches
from the southwest to the northeast regions of the country.
"The
outbreak in Uganda is occurring at a time when Kenya is having a large
RVF outbreak and Rwanda is experiencing an epizootic, with suspected
human cases," the WHO said.
Kenya total grows; more animal outbreaks reported
In
Kenya, where an outbreak has been under way since May, four more Rift
Valley fever cases have been reported, raising the outbreak total as of
Jul 4 to 94, 20 of them confirmed. Ten deaths have been reported.
Illnesses have been reported in three counties: Wajir, Marsabit, and
Siaya.
The country's agriculture ministry has reported several
outbreaks in animals over the past few months, especially in areas that
had experienced flooding after heavy rainfall.
Yesterday,
officials reported four more outbreaks affecting Marsabit, Mandera,
Baringo, and Meru counties, according to a notification from the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The events began on farms
from Jun 22 to Jul 2, killing 950 animals, which included sheep, camels,
cattle, and goats. Investigators found that the source of the outbreaks
were illegal animal movements, contact with infected animals at grazing
areas, and vectors.
See also:
Jul 16 WHO African regional office http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/273028/OEW27-300606072018.pdf" rel="nofollow - weekly report
Jul 3 CIDRAP News scan " http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2018/07/news-scan-jul-03-2018" rel="nofollow - Illnesses climb to 90 in Kenya's Rift Valley fever outbreak "
Jul 16 OIE report on http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review?page_refer=MapFullEventReport&reportid=27246" rel="nofollow - Rift Valley fever in Kenya
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2018/07/uganda-reports-rift-valley-fever-outbreak" rel="nofollow - http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2018/07/uganda-reports-rift-valley-fever-outbreak