Pathology of Rift Valley Fever

Dr Sampurna Roy MD

Rift valley fever is an arboviral disease produced by a bunyavirus belonging to the genus Phlebovirus.

Several species of Aedes and Culex are the vectors of this virus that affects sheep, goats, buffalos, cattle, camels and human beings.

The human disease is well known, especially during periods of intense epizootic activity.

The initial description of the disease dates back to 1930, when animals and human outbreaks appeared on a farm in Lake Naivasha, in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya.

Until 2000, this disease was only described in Africa, and there have been cases in southern and eastern Africa and in the Sudan and Egypt.

Later outbreaks were also declared in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2000-2001 and 2004) and in Yemen (2000-2001).

Clinical presentation:  In human nonspecific, influenza-like symptoms (headace, fever, myalgia, etc) are prominent. Hemorrhagic complications resembling those of yellow fever develop in some patients and may be fatal.

Further reading:

Feeding pattern of Rift Valley Fever virus vectors in Senegal. Implications in the disease epidemiology.

Rift Valley fever in West Africa: the role of space in endemicity.

Application of knowledge-driven spatial modelling approaches and uncertainty management to a study of Rift Valley fever in Africa.

Severe Rift Valley fever may present with a characteristic clinical syndrome.

Rift Valley Fever virus infections in Egypt: Pathological and virological findings in man.

Pathogenesis of viral hemorrhagic fevers: Rift Valley fever and Lassa fever contrasted.

Isolation of Rift Valley fever virus from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: Mauritanian epidemic.