Rift Valley fever
Viral disease of humans and livestock in Africa and Arabia.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease affecting both humans and livestock, primarily found in Africa and Arabia. It is caused by the RVF virus, a member of the Bunyaviricetes class, and can cause mild to severe symptoms, including fever, muscle pains, headaches, and in severe cases, loss of sight, brain infections, and bleeding with a high risk of death. The disease is significant due to its impact on public health and livestock economies, with outbreaks often linked to heavy rainfall and flooding that increase mosquito populations.
- transmission vectors
- mosquitoes (e.g., Aedes mcintoshi, Aedes vexans, Culex pipiens, Culex antennatus) and contact with infected animal tissue
Quick Facts
- Symptoms
- Fever, muscle pains, headaches
- Complications
- Loss of sight, confusion, bleeding, liver problems
- Duration
- Up to a week
- Causes
- Phlebovirus spread by an infected animal or mosquito
- Diagnosis
- Finding antibodies or the virus in the blood
- Prevention
- Vaccinating animals against the disease, decreasing mosquito bites
- Treatment
- Supportive care
- Frequency
- Outbreaks in Africa and Arabia
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In humans, the virus can cause mild symptoms such as fever, muscle pains, and headaches lasting up to a week, or severe symptoms including loss of sight, brain infections, and bleeding with liver problems. About 1% of infected people die, but those who experience bleeding have a death chance as high as 50%. Livestock, including cows, sheep, goats, and camels, are affected, with pregnant animals aborting virtually 100% of fetuses. The virus does not appear to spread from person to person.
Reader's Guide
Rift Valley fever is a significant zoonotic disease with major implications for public health and livestock production in Africa and Arabia. Its outbreaks are closely tied to climatic events, such as heavy rainfall and flooding, which facilitate mosquito breeding and virus transmission. The disease's ability to cause severe symptoms, including hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, and its high fatality rate in bleeding cases underscore its threat. Prevention relies on vaccinating animals before outbreaks, avoiding contact with infected animal tissues, and controlling mosquito populations. No licensed human vaccine is available, and treatment is supportive. The virus's unique ambisense genome and its nonstructural protein NSs, which inhibits host interferon responses, highlight its complex pathogenesis. Ongoing research into vaccines, such as the live-attenuated MP-12 and clone 13, offers hope for better control. The disease's history, first noted in Kenya in the early 1900s, and its periodic emergence during El Niño events, make it a model for understanding climate-driven infectious disease dynamics.
Did You Know?
- The virus was first isolated in 1931.
- Outbreaks usually occur during years of unusually heavy rainfall and flooding.
- Pregnant livestock infected with RVF abort virtually 100% of foetuses.
- Several human vaccines for RVF have been developed and tested, but none are licensed for widespread human use; an inactivated vaccine is available for veterinary use and has been used experimentally in humans under speci
More in Viral Infections 1-20
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record