Rift Valley Fever kills 12 in Kenya

GARISSA, Kenya, Dec 23 (Reuters) Rift Valley Fever has killed 12 people over the last week from Kenya's northern nomadic livestock herding communities, officials said.

Health officials said yesterday they had declared the outbreak an epidemic and sent air ambulances as well as veterinary teams to the region to combat the highly contagious virus.

Rift Valley Fever is spread mainly by mosquitoes and the movement of animals. It causes abortion and mortality in sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes and camels. In humans, it can cause flu-like symptoms, which may lead to death.

''So far, 12 people have died and four are admitted in an isolation ward,'' Dr Abdullahi Abagira, the medical officer in charge of Garissa District in northeastern province said.

Rift Valley Fever was blamed for the deaths of hundreds of people in Kenya in 1997-1998. Dr Phillip Muthoka, a Health Ministry official, said anti-viral drugs for the illness were not readily available, adding that the government considered the situation an epidemic.

''We are trying to contain the outbreak by educating herders to stay away from dead or affected animals as the virus can be transmitted via fluids,'' Muthoka told Reuters by telephone.

''We are also supplying (mosquito) nets as the heavy rains have made it easier for mosquitoes to transmit the disease.'' The region has been hit hard this year, first by a severe drought that killed scores of humans and thousands of animals, followed by a period of heavy rains causing fatal floods.

Stagnant patches of water left behind after the floods receded have encouraged virus-bearing mosquitoes to breed.

The sickness has been reported in only two districts, both in Kenya's remote northeastern province where nomadic communities depend on their livestock.

Abagira said veterinary personnel were educating the public on the safe disposal of their dead animals.

''The veterinary department is also on the ground. We are working together to prevent further infections and deaths of people and livestock,'' he said.

REUTERS PB BD0911