Senegal has recorded 17 deaths from Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in what officials describe as the country’s deadliest outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in decades.
Dr Boly Diop, head of RVF surveillance at the Ministry of Health, said on Thursday that 119 cases had been confirmed, most of them in northern Senegal a major livestock-producing region. The concentration of cases in that area has heightened fears of further spread.
RVF is a viral disease that primarily affects livestock and is transmitted mainly through mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there has been no documented case of human-to-human transmission.
Humans typically become infected through mosquito bites or by coming into contact with the blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) stated.
Dr Merawi Aragaw Tegegne, an epidemiologist with Africa CDC, said during a weekly press briefing that RVF has been endemic in northern Senegal since the 1980s. He noted that outbreaks of the disease have been occurring more frequently across Africa in recent years, a trend he linked to the effects of climate change and extreme weather events.
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“It has been becoming more frequent these days across Africa, and these various diseases are closely related with climate change and extreme weather events,” Tegegne said.
“If you see torrential rain with quick floods, then sunny days, expect RVF in the coming days with favourable conditions for the vectors,” he added.
The current outbreak was officially declared on 21 September, according to Africa CDC. It said efforts to contain the spread have been hampered by low community awareness, a weak early warning system, and delayed detection of cases.
The last major RVF epidemic in Senegal and neighbouring Mauritania occurred between 1987 and 1988, killing more than 200 people. Since then, only small and sporadic outbreaks had been reported.
“This is the first time Senegal has counted so many people affected,” Dr Diop said.
The WHO warns that RVF can spread to humans during animal slaughter, birthing, veterinary procedures, or disposal of carcasses, putting herders, farmers, veterinarians, and slaughterhouse workers at the highest risk.
While most human infections cause mild or no symptoms, severe forms of the disease can lead to loss of vision or haemorrhagic fever, the latter carrying a case fatality rate of up to 50 per cent, the WHO said.
