17 October 2008
Dar Es Salaam — Health authorities in Tanzania have urged people to take precautionary measures against Rift Valley Fever (RVF), saying there were signs that the disease might erupt.
"The government has conducted surveys in border regions and established that there was a likelihood of a breakout of the deadly disease," said Aisha Kigoda, Tanzania's deputy minister for health on Friday.
She said the disease usually occurs during rainy season which is just around the corner in most parts of the east African country.
RVF is an acute viral infectious disease of humans, cattle and sheep. Clinically it is characterised by fever, loss of body coordination and sudden death.
In January 2007 the first cases of RVF were reported after the disease spread from neighbouring Kenya. By May over 100 cases were reported and more than 30 people died of the disease.
Kigoda urged people not to eat meat that has not been inspected and certified fit for human consumption by government veterinary officers.
She also warned people to stop exhuming the carcasses of cattle, goat and sheep declared unfit for consumption.
RVF has been a persistent threat in neighbouring Kenya for over 60 years.
As early as 1913, a disease fitting the description of RVF was blamed for the loss of sheep in the Rift Valley in Kenya.
So far, there is no cure and doctors are only able to treat the symptoms. About one percent of people contracting RVF develop the disease in a severe form; approximately half of those die.
In 1997, following heavy rains blamed on El Nino, some 27,500 people were infected and 170 died in Garissa District in North Eastern Province in Kenya.
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And with economic woes facing our countries in Southern Africa and given the almost uncontrolled movement of people across borders, this warning should be taken with extra awareness.