Rift Valley Fever outbreak in the Comoros
Health officials report an unusual Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak which began in the Comoros in late October 2023.
From October last year to early 2024, 471 suspected RVF cases were hospitalized, distributed between Ngazidja and Moili, in nine health districts across the archipelago.
Officials report patients had symptoms that included flu-like illness and gastroenteritis; and 2% had meningoencephalitis, epistaxis, and petechiae.
Nine deaths were reported.
Mohéli Island also reported cattle and goat deaths due to RVF.
Rift Valley Fever is mosquito-borne virus that is endemic in parts of Africa. It primarily infects animals like sheep, cattle and goats and it can have an economic impact on a community due to the loss of livestock.
Humans get infected through contact with infected animal blood or organs. Butchering and slaughtering of animals is a primary cause of transmission to humans. Certain occupations are at a higher risk of getting Rift Valley Fever like farmers, herders and veterinarians.
Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube
It can also be transmitted to humans through mosquito bites and the bites of blood-sucking flies.
Most cases of Rift Valley Fever are mild and symptoms include fever, headaches and muscle pain. However, a small percentage of people can get serious disease which includes retinitis, encephalitis and a hemorrhagic fever. Fatalities happen in less than 1 percent of those infected.