Saudi Arabia, Yemen: Virus Leaves Hundreds Deadgreenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread |
Nando TimesVirus leaves hundreds dead in Saudi Arabia, Yemen
Agence France-Presse
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (December 22, 2000 6:10 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - The Rift Valley fever virus has claimed over 200 lives since it was first reported in the Arabian peninsula, Yememi and Saudi health ministers said Friday.
In a statement carried by the SPA news agency, the ministry said "112 people died of RVF up to to the beginning of Friday afternoon and 815 people in all have contracted the disease, of whom 688 have (been released from care) after treatment."
In neighboring Yemen, according to a health ministry bulletin at the end of October, RVF had claimed the lives of 109 people.
The symptoms of Rift Valley Fever include hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis and eye problems, although human deaths are supposed to be rare, according to experts.
The virus is usually contracted from mosquitoes, or by contact with the blood, bodily fluids or organs of infected animals.
-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), December 23, 2000
For more information, see the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which is available online.Three articles (from the last couple of months, with refernce to cases beginning I think in August of this year) about the Rift Valley Fever outbreak in Saudi Arabia and Yemen can be found at the following URLs:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4947a3.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4943a3.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4940a1.htm
-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), December 27, 2000.