Rift Valley Fever cases reported in Nairobi

Two cases of Rift Valley Fever, a deadly viral disease that broke out in northeastern Kenya in December 2006, have been reported in the capital, Nairobi, despite assurances by health officials on Wednesday that the disease had been contained.

Kariuki Njenga, a virologist and laboratory director for the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Kenya and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), described the two as "spot cases", transferred from other parts of the country, and said they did not represent an escalation.

"One was the case of a journalist returning on Sunday from an assignment in the Northeastern Province while the other was that of a man who had travelled to the city from Kirinyaga [where the outbreak has also been reported]," he added.

Since the disease broke out, at least 220 cases, including 82 deaths, have been reported in Northeastern and Coast provinces, according to a 15 January statement by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO). The agency said KEMRI had confirmed 56 of the cases, including 12 deaths.

The epicentres of the outbreak were the northeastern districts of Garissa and Ijara, where the disease has also killed hundreds of livestock, mostly goats, sheep and cattle. Coast Province, Wajir and Tana River districts have also been affected and local media reports on Wednesday said the disease had spread to Kirinyaga and Maragwa districts, which are close to Nairobi.

A Kenyan government ban on the sale and slaughter of livestock in Northeastern Province, imposed in December, has not been lifted.

"There is no pressure and the Kenyan government is going to cope should the disease spread beyond expectations," he said. "What I can confirm now is that RVF is under control in Kenya."

The RVF virus is spread to humans from livestock via the aedes mosquito, which breeds rapidly during floods. Northeastern Province, inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, was hit by devastating floods between October and December 2006.

The disease can also be transmitted through contact with infected animal material such as blood or other body fluids or organs. Consumption of milk, a staple for many pastoralists, is also a possible risk. Symptoms in humans include bleeding through the nose and mouth, and liver failure.

The Ministry of Health has been working together with KEMRI and the CDC to curb the spread of the disease.

Njenga said ministry officials had managed to keep the RVF virus from spreading to other parts of Kenya and to other countries in the region. He said health officials were working around the clock to inform the public on how best to keep the virus at bay.

"We are working together and have increased surveillance throughout the country, especially in livestock areas," Njenga said.

He added that KEMRI and the CDC were analysing samples received from various parts of the country.

"No cases have been confirmed in Ethiopia although one spot case was reported in Somalia," he said. "Spot cases are not uncommon in areas where RVF is endemic and the positive case in Somalia is one such example; it does not represent an escalation of new cases.

"Continued public education is the best tool available in the fight against RVF," Njenga said. "We must teach the people how to handle animal products, especially raw meat, carefully; to avoid consuming uncooked meat and use treated mosquito nets."

Northeastern Province was previously hit by an outbreak of RVF in 1997 after heavy flooding caused by the El Niño weather pattern. The disease was first identified in Kenya in 1931. A first sign of it is spontaneous abortions in sheep, goats and cattle.

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