
Is there a vaccine for Rift Valley Fever?
Rift Valley Fever Vaccines An inactivated vaccine has been developed for human use, but it is not licensed and or commercially available. It has been used experimentally to protect veterinary and laboratory personnel at high risk of exposure to RVF. Other candidate vaccines are under investigation.
How can a farmer prevent Rift Valley Fever?
Preventive vaccination This is the most effective means to control RVF. Early warning of high-risk periods for the disease is possible and this information should drive strategic vaccination campaigns. The most effective vaccine is the modified live Smithburn neurotropic strain (SNS).
Is Rift Valley Fever a virus or bacteria?
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute viral disease that affects domestic animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels). The disease is caused by the RVF virus, generally found in regions of eastern and southern Africa, but also in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
How long does Rift Valley fever last?
The symptoms of RVF usually last from 4 to 7 days. While most human cases are relatively mild, a small percentage of patients develop a much more severe form of the disease.
How is Rift Valley Fever transmitted?
People usually get Rift Valley fever through contact with blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals, mainly livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, and camels.
Which mosquito causes Rift Valley Fever?
Ecology and mosquito vectors Among animals, the RVF virus is spread primarily by the bite of infected mosquitoes, mainly the Aedes species, which can acquire the virus from feeding on infected animals.
How do you test for Rift Valley fever?
Definitive diagnosis of RVF requires laboratory testing of blood or other tissue samples. The virus can be detected in the blood (during illness) and in postmortem tissue by virus isolation in cell culture and by molecular techniques (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR).
What causes Rift Valley disease?
The disease is caused by RVF virus (RVFV), a member of the genus Phlebovirus in the order Bunyavirales. Some related Bunyavirales viruses can also cause illness in people, such as hantaviruses and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus.
What are the two common clinical signs of Rift Valley fever in cattle?
Clinical SignsFever.Anorexia (poor appetite)Weakness.Death in young animals.Abortion (may be 100% in the herd)
Can Valley Fever affect your eyes?
Valley Fever can cause inflammation inside of the eye leading to retinal detachment and glaucoma (elevated pressure inside the eye that causes discomfort and vision loss). It can also affect the eyelids and cause swelling or redness. Eyelid involvement is seen more commonly in infected cats than dogs.
Is Valley Fever the same as Rift Valley fever?
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease of humans and livestock that can cause mild to severe symptoms. The mild symptoms may include: fever, muscle pains, and headaches which often last for up to a week....Virology.Rift Valley fever phlebovirusGenus:PhlebovirusSpecies:Rift Valley fever phlebovirus10 more rows
Is Valley Fever a virus?
Valley fever is a fungal infection caused by coccidioides (kok-sid-e-OY-deze) organisms. It can cause signs and symptoms such as a fever, cough and tiredness. Two coccidioides fungi species cause valley fever. These fungi are commonly found in soil in specific regions.
What is the vector of Rift Valley Fever?
Mosquitoes are both a reservoir and vector for RVFV, which means that they can maintain virus for life and transmit it to their offspring via eggs. After periods of heavy rainfall and flooding, an increased number of RVF virus-infected mosquitos may hatch and pass virus to people and animals.
What is Lassa fever virus?
Lassa fever is an animal-borne, or zoonotic, acute viral illness spread by the common African rat. It is endemic in parts of West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. Neighboring countries are also at risk because the animal vector lives throughout the region.
What is the suspected case definition for Rift Valley Fever?
Confirmed case definition. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease affecting domesticated ruminant animals and humans. It is transmitted by Culex and Aedes spp. mosquitoes or by direct contact with animal blood and/or body fluids.
What is a white rift disease?
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease of humans and livestock that can cause mild to severe symptoms. The mild symptoms may include: fever, muscle pains, and headaches which often last for up to a week.
What is Rift Valley Fever?
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. Infection can cause severe disease in both animals and humans. The disease also results in significant economic losses due to death and abortion among RVF-infected livestock. RVF virus is a member of the Phlebovirus genus.
How to prevent RVF in animals?
Outbreaks of RVF in animals can be prevented by a sustained programme of animal vaccination. Both modified live attenuated virus and inactivated virus vaccines have been developed for veterinary use. Only 1 dose of the live vaccine is required to provide long-term immunity but this vaccine may result in spontaneous abortion if given to pregnant animals. The inactivated virus vaccine does not have this side effect, but multiple doses are required in order to provide protection which may prove problematic in endemic areas.
How long does it take for RVF to spread?
The incubation period (the interval from infection to onset of symptoms) for RVF varies from 2 to 6 days. Outbreaks of RVF in animals can be prevented by a sustained programme of animal vaccination. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals ...
What is RVF in livestock?
The disease also results in significant economic losses due to death and abortion among RVF-infected livestock. RVF virus is a member of the Phlebovirus genus. The virus was first identified in 1931 during an investigation into an epidemic among sheep on a farm in the Rift Valley of Kenya.
How long does it take for a severe RVF to appear?
The onset of the lesions in the eyes is usually 1 to 3 weeks after appearance of the first symptoms.
Where did the RVF virus come from?
Since then, outbreaks have been reported in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1977 an explosive outbreak was reported in Egypt, the RVF virus was introduced to Egypt via infected livestock trade along the Nile irrigation system.
What animals are most susceptible to RVF?
RVF is able to infect many species of animals causing severe disease in domesticated animals including cattle, sheep, camels and goats. Sheep and goats appear to be more susceptible than cattle or camels.
What is Rift Valley fever?
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease most commonly seen in domesticated animals in sub-Saharan Africa, such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels.
Can RVF cause a fever?
Although RVF often causes severe illness in animals, most people with RVF have either no symptoms or a mild illness with fever, weakness, back pain, and dizziness . However, a small percentage (8-10%) of people with RVF develop much more severe symptoms, including eye disease, hemorrhage (excessive bleeding), and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).
Beware of the Cattle
Abioye is a farmer in the African country of Kenya, who raises cattle to help feed his family and other people in his village. Part of Abioye's job is to slaughter his cattle once they are big enough and mature enough to provide edible beef.
Symptoms
Many people who get infected with Rift Valley fever will not experience any symptoms at all. Those who do show symptoms are likely to experience mild symptoms of:
Treatment & Vaccination
Most cases of Rift Valley fever are mild and, therefore, do not require much treatment. More severe cases of this disease are treated using supportive therapy, which is treatment that focuses on treating the symptoms and making the person feel more comfortable.
What is Rift Valley Fever?
minus. Related Pages. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever that is most commonly seen in domesticated animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) and can also cause illness in people.
What is RVF virus?
The disease is caused by RVF virus (RVFV), a member of the genus Phlebovirus in the order Bunyavirales. Some related Bunyavirales viruses can also cause illness in people, such as hantaviruses and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus. RVF was first reported in livestock by veterinary officers in Kenya’s Rift Valley in the early 1910s.
What are the impacts of RVF?
Outbreaks of RVF can have major societal impacts, including significant economic losses and trade reductions. The disease most commonly affects livestock, causing severe illness and abortion in domesticated animals, an important income source for many. Outbreaks of disease in animal populations are called “epizootics.”.
Where is RVF found?
RVF was first reported in livestock by veterinary officers in Kenya’s Rift Valley in the early 1910s. It is generally found in regions of eastern and southern Africa where sheep and cattle are raised, but exists in most of sub-Saharan Africa, including West Africa and Madagascar.
When did RVF occur?
The most notable RVF epizootic occurred in Kenya in 1950-1951, resulting in the death of an estimated 100,000 sheep. Epizootic outbreaks of RVF also increase the likelihood of contact between diseased animals and humans, which can lead to outbreaks of RVF in people. For instance, in 1977 RVF was found in Egypt ...
What is the Rift Valley virus?
Rift Valley fever. Rift Valley fever ( RVF) is a viral disease of humans and livestock that can cause mild to severe symptoms. The mild symptoms may include: fever, muscle pains, and headaches which often last for up to a week. The severe symptoms may include: loss of sight beginning three weeks after the infection, ...
What is the distribution of Rift Valley fever in Africa?
Distribution of Rift Valley fever in Africa: Blue, countries with endemic disease and substantial outbreaks of RVF; green, countries known to have some cases, periodic isolation of virus, or serologic evidence of RVF. See also: List of Rift Valley fever outbreaks.
How is RVF spread?
The disease is caused by the RVF virus. It is spread by either touching infected animal blood, breathing in the air around an infected animal being butchered, drinking raw milk from an infected animal, or the bite of infected mosquitoes. Animals such as cows, sheep, goats, and camels may be affected.
How long does RVF last?
The mild symptoms may include: fever, muscle pains, and headaches which often last for up to a week. The severe symptoms may include: loss of sight beginning three weeks after the infection, infections of the brain causing severe headaches ...
What order is Rift Valley?
Rift Valley fever phlebovirus. The virus belongs to the Bunyavirales order. This is an order of enveloped negative single stranded RNA viruses. All Bunyaviruses have an outer lipid envelope with two glycoproteins —G (N) and G (C)—required for cell entry.
What are the signs of RVF?
Other signs in livestock include vomiting and diarrhoea, respiratory disease, fever, lethargy, anorexia and sudden death in young animals.
How to reduce the chances of getting infected?
Prevention. A person's chances of becoming infected can be reduced by taking measures to decrease contact with blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals and protection against mosquitoes and other bloodsucking insects. Use of mosquito repellents and bed nets are two effective methods.
What is the best test for RVFV?
Antibody testing using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) can also be used to confirm infection with RVFV by showing the presence of IgM antibodies, which appear briefly as an early response to a recent infection, and IgG antibodies, which persist for several years.
Can RVF be diagnosed in the blood?
Diagnosis. French. minus. Related Pages. Because RVF symptoms can be mild and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult, especially early in the course of the disease. Definitive diagnosis of RVF requires laboratory testing of blood or other tissue samples. The virus can be detected in the blood ...
