Kenyan death toll from fatal Rift Valley Fever rises to 100
Pastor Dale Morgan
Kenyan death toll from fatal Rift Valley Fever rises to 100*
Reuters
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 10:07 AM
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The death toll from an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever
in Kenya has risen to 100 people, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
The contagious disease hit remote areas of Kenya's north eastern and
coastal provinces in mid-December and has since spread to neighboring
Somalia. The country has recorded nearly 65 new human infections since
the end of last week.
"The government has already spent 100 million shillings ($1.43 million)
to provide medical care for affected areas, and two million heads of
cattle have already been vaccinated," Alfred Mutua, the government's
spokesman told a news conference.
Health officials at the Kenyan Dadaab refugee camp, a densely populated
camp near the border with Somalia, said 29 cases including five deaths
had been reported by Thursday.
The disease is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites or frequent
contact with contaminated animals.
Although transmission from animals to humans is rare, the disease
develops into a much more severe illness once it crosses over causing
victims to abort, vomit blood or bleed to death.
The World Health Organization has said a dilapidated infrastructure in
the areas worst hit would make treatment difficult and feared the
disease would spread quickly.
The government asked people to avoid contact with animals, especially
cows, to use mosquito nets and take extra care with their personal hygiene.
A similar outbreak in 1997-1998 killed hundreds of people in Kenya.