Kenya’s Rift Valley Fever Death Toll Hits 75

Text of report by Victor Obure entitled “Rift Valley fever claims six lives as more are infected” published by Kenyan newspaper The Standard website on 8 January

Six more people have succumbed to the killer Rift Valley fever. The latest victims bring to 75 the number of people claimed by the deadly fever in the region.

The six died as the government announced it would launch a massive livestock vaccination campaign in the affected districts on Monday [8 January].

North Eastern Provincial Medical Officer of Health Dr Omar Ahmed, however, said the official death toll in the province stood at 66, with Garissa recording the highest cases. He added that measures to stem further spread of the disease in the most affected district were paying off.

Ahmed said three of the fatalities occurred in Wajir District, where the highly contagious disease spread after killing hundreds of livestock in remote and inaccessible locations, while the fourth victim bled to death on arrival at the Garissa Provincial General Hospital.

The remaining two died in a neighbouring district.

Ahmed said the Wajir victims succumbed to the disease in the hands of villagers after showing symptoms of the fever. He urged residents to immediately report suspect cases, especially those suffering from Malaria-related ailments.

The doctor said two of the deaths were reported in Sabule while the third one occurred in Diff border point where three other people earlier in the week vomited blood to death.

There were claims that the deceased were among residents who flouted a government ban on consumption of animal products.

Omar said the number of infected people had increased to 183 from 160 two days ago, and confirmed that 17 patients were hospitalized in various health centres across the province in critical condition.

He, however, said two of the seven victims of the fever were discharged from an isolation ward at Garissa Provincial Hospital. He confirmed that two referral cases from Hagarbul sneaked out of the unit after witnessing several of their colleagues die. He said most victims were taken to hospital in poor shape.

The deaths come after preliminary investigations into an upsurge in new infections indicated that majority of the new cases had a recent history handling or eating animal products.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.