Death Toll From Rift Valley Fever Hits 95 in Kenya

Death toll from Rift Valley fever hits 95 in Kenya

NAIROBI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — The death toll from an outbreak of Rift Valley fever in Kenya has hit 95, officials said on Monday as the health authorities rushed to affected regions in a bid to combat the disease.

Kenya’s Health Ministry said the government has spent 350 million shillings (5 million U.S. dollars) in efforts to contain the disease which has already spread to seven districts in the country.

Director of Medical Services Dr. James Nyikal told journalists that the viral disease has so far infected around 250 people since it was first reported in mid-December and has continued to spread across several arid districts in the country.

He said the majority of those affected by the disease are men aged 20 to 40 and there is a decline in the number of daily reported cases.

“At the onset of the outbreak the ministry was receiving up to fifteen cases every day and now they have reduced to five,” he told journalists.

The top physician announced that an additional 40 nurses have been deployed to North Eastern province.”The disease should not prevail beyond February when temperature increases and floods become non-existent,” he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) sent a team to vaccinate animals in the affected areas, while the American aid agency USAID warned of a shortage of supplies as slaughterhouses and cattle markets were closed for health reasons.

The worst affected area was the border region between Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia which is home to many nomads and large cattle herds.

The WHO said the disease occurs in epidemics in animals of Africa and is associated with spontaneous abortions in sheep, goats, cattle and camels, as well as deaths in young animals.

It can be transmitted to human beings via mosquitoes or through contacts with infected animal material, such as blood or other body fluids, or organs. The consumption of milk, a staple for many pastoral people, is also thought to be able to lead to infection.

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