Saudi Arabia, Yemen: Virus Leaves Hundreds Dead

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Nando Times

Virus 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

Answers

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.


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