The Rift Valley fever: could re-emerge in Egypt again?

J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2013 Apr;43(1):41-56. doi: 10.12816/0006366.

Abstract

The Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a neglected, emerging, mosquito-borne disease with severe negative impact on human and animal health and economy. RVF is caused by RVF virus of the family of Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus. RVF is an acute, febrile disease affecting humans and a wide range of animals. The virus is trans-mitted through the bites from mosquitoes and exposure to viremic blood, body fluids, or contact with tissues of infected animals or by inhaling natural virus aerosols, also possibly by consumption of infected unpasteurized milk. The RVF-virus replicate at the site introduction and in local lymphatic followed by viremia and spread to other organs as the liver and central nervous system, causing the hepatic necrosis and eosinophilia cytoplasmic degeneration. The main signs and symptoms are fever, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, photophobia, bradycardia, conjunctivitis and flushing face. Main complications include jaundice, hemorrhagic, meningoencephalitis and retinal lesions. Generally speaking, in the 21st Century, the vector-borne infectious diseases, was accepted as the disaster issues with the considerable significant morbidity and mortality. These facts should be considered by the public health, veterinary and agricultural authorities

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Communicable Diseases, Emerging / epidemiology*
  • Culicidae
  • Egypt / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Insect Vectors
  • Phlebovirus
  • Rift Valley Fever / epidemiology*
  • Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
  • Sudan / epidemiology