Rift Valley Fever claims 9 lives

I have been watching this outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in South Africa for over 2 months now - initially it was restricted to a small area in te Eastern Cape.

It appears to be spreading, and the number of dead and infect is increasing:

Johannesburg - Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has claimed the lives of nine people in South Africa, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

Spokesperson Charity Bhengu said in a statement that five of the people were from the Free State and the others from the Northern Cape.

She said a total of 139 confirmed RVF cases have been reported by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases since February 13.

Source

What is Rift Valley Fever?

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis (affects primarily domestic livestock, but can be passed to humans) causing fever. It is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes, typically the Aedes or Culex genera. The disease is caused by the RVF virus, a member of the genus Phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae). 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).

Link

What concerns me is that it does not seem to have been contained, and is spreading all over the country. Luckily it is approaching winter, so the risk of mosquitoes spreading it have been decreased. If you are coming to SA, make sure you take the necessary precaustions against mosquitoes.

S&F
thanks for the info, what i find interesting is how is this going to pan out regarding the world cup? Also why is this not common knowledge, we have all the ingredients of a global epidemic? How fitting given the global population crisis.

reply to post by jazz10


Hi jazz, thanks for commenting - we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but I am surprised that with the upcoming World Cup that certain elements of the MSM that appear opposed to our hosting of a successful WC have not picked up on this.

To be honest, I don't think anyone should worry - it is just one more thing that people need to take notice of, and to take precuation in case they are in affected areas or develop symptoms.

Latest update:
SA Rift Valley Fever deaths rise to 11

It appears the MSM have woken up ... I saw a headline today where assurances were given that there is no threat to the Soccer World Cup 2010.

Here is more from that article:

THE Health Department has assured visiting soccer World Cup fans that they are not in danger of contracting Rift Valley Fever.

“Visitors will be at risk if they handled infected carcasses on farms or handled raw meat from infected animals,” the department said.
Spokesperson Charity Bhengu said: “The National Institute of Communicable Diseases laboratory has reported that there is a total of 149 confirmed human cases of Rift Valley Fever.
“Of these, 100 cases are from Free State, 38 cases from Northern Cape, eight from the Eastern Cape, one from North West and two whose history is still unknown.

Link

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


THE Health Department has assured visiting soccer World Cup fans that they are not in danger of contracting Rift Valley Fever?
Have they got an agreement from the mosquitos not to infect everyone?

This has the potential of becoming a very serious global hazard. The amount of fans globally that will be travelling, but more importantly returning from the world cup will only spread this further afield.
I cant believe its not a news headline. I made a thread a while ago (or 2) regarding the world cup, and why Africa given whats going on down there. I think that it will be an event remembered for years to come, for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes i even wonder, will it actually go ahead or even get to the final.
Murders
HIV
Robberies and mugging
Terrorist threat especially if the recent events with Iran dont escalate
and last but definatley this, Rift valley fever.

reply to post by jazz10


I respectfully differ on your opinion of the WC 2010 in SA - I think it will be a great success but obviously compared to the shows put on by richer countries, it may be regarded as a dissapointment (fewer fireworks, less glitz and glamour) .... I just hope it can unite us all just a little bit much like winning the Rugby World Cups did for us (ever so briefly).

Heck,if that is the case, I may even be persuaded to watch a game ... maybe ... ugh ...


Our crime is .. a problem. Let's hope these tourists have some sense of common sense (and don't go walking around with bulging wallets, flashy cameras and jewellry). Hmmm I could be talking about any city in the world ... New York, Rome ... Paris.
Unfortunately, robbings here tend to be more violent and more frequently very senseless.

Let's just hope the Rift Valley Fever-carrying mosquitoes don't go all Al Quaeda on us and sabotage the games ...

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
reply to post by jazz10

 

I respectfully differ on your opinion of the WC 2010 in SA - I think it will be a great success but obviously compared to the shows put on by richer countries, it may be regarded as a dissapointment (fewer fireworks, less glitz and glamour) ..

I didnt mean it like that, youve completely missed my point, Sorry to cause offence. I was talking from a whole different perspective.

I`ll put this straight
Sometimes i even wonder, will it actually go ahead or even get to the final.
Murders
HIV
Robberies and mugging
Terrorist threat especially if the recent events with Iran dont escalate
and last but definatley this, Rift valley fever.

what i meant was, yes these are serious but ultimately what is the source and the cause, what is/was the origional catalyst?
And more importantly what is its final destination?

This is happening globally as we speak, what im saying is, who would use this to their advantage?

Yes youve read it and thought about it, but, please think from outside the box and read it again.


[edit on 24-4-2010 by jazz10]

reply to post by jazz10


Jazz, you shall never cause me offence, life is too short for that my friend. I probably have the same issues that you have regarding SA and the issues we are facing ... I just don't want to be too publically pessimistic (or perhaps I don't wan't to admit privately to myself)

I am a rugby guy, the soccer thang drives me nuts ... but I come from a family who are rather right wing, yet I have met and have a few friends of all colours who are so amazing - intelligent, open-minded and cosmopolitan. I don't want to let those damn criminals force me to start hating. Not sure if you understand what I am trying to get at? If not, U2U me ... and I will try explain my philosophy a bit better.

Here is the latest update:

Officials in South Africa, the host of the 2010 World Cup from June 11 to July 11, have reported 172 human cases of the animal viral disease this year, including 15 deaths, it said.

Many tourists visit South Africa's game parks and the WHO warned visitors to avoid contact with dead animals -- another way of catching the disease.

Now a German tourist has contracted the disease:

A female German tourist who visited game reserves was confirmed as having the disease upon return from South Africa last month, the WHO said in a statement. Three other travelers fell ill with similar symptoms but all four have recovered.

Link

Whilst I have nothing against S.AFRICA I believe it silly that they are still going to host the World Cup whilst savage Mosquitos are multiplying and are readying themselves to lurk and pounce on Australian Fans in particular.
Australia is a safe country and we could host the cup at very short notice.
The threat from muggers and bandits in the African states is too real, now we have mosquitos to add further casualties to the fans of our nation.
I see this world cup as a taut tense joyless one , why oh why was a nation so divided and strife ridden chosen?
Lets hope it turns out ok.

reply to post by Dr Conspire


Personally, I think your Killer Koalas and Kangaroos are more frightening than our gentle peace-loving mosquitoes.

To anyone following this thread, I am not going to start a new thread, so bear with me as I update this one with any breaking news or information that I find:


Trade in Namibian meat restricted over Rift Valley fever

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also advised hunters planning to hunt in Namibia and bring the meat back to SA to contact the country’s veterinary authorities .

The department said all veterinary import permits already issued for the commodities that it banned yesterday would be “considered to be cancelled” until further notice.

The industries include live Rift Valley fever-susceptible ruminants such as game animals, raw milk, venison, beef, mutton and goat meat not slaughtered at SA- approved abattoirs.

This is not going away folks. Be aware.