Rift Valley fever spreads to areas close to Mandela Bay

May 19 2010 1:31PM

2010/05/19 DEADLY Rift Valley fever is spreading rapidly in the Eastern Cape and has reached as close to Nelson Mandela Bay as Humansdorp and the Tsitsikamma area. Senior manager and director for veterinary services in the Eastern Cape, Dr Cedisa Mnqeta, said there were now 45 farms in the province which had tested positive for the fever and more test results were outstanding. There have also been eight confirmed human cases in the province. Rift Valley fever can be spread to humans by handling animals and their blood, and by mosquitos. The latest outbreak of the disease has just been confirmed on a Tsitsikamma dairy farm and the Eastern Cape Veterinary Services believe this outbreak is potentially very serious as it is unlikely mosquitoes will die out over winter in this area. Mnqeta confirmed that farms which tested positive for Rift Valley fever are in the Cradock, Humansdorp, Middelburg, Hofmeyr, Steynsburg, Graaff- Reinet, Jansenville and Tsitsikamma areas. Of the eight confirmed human cases, two were veterinary services staff members, five were farm workers who worked with animals and one was a township resident suspected of coming into contact with diseased meat. There are almost 200 confirmed cases in the country. Agri Eastern Cape has warned farmers to take preventative measures, such a vaccinating livestock to prevent the disease from spreading, which would impact negatively on the province’s agricultural economy. The manager of veterinary services in the western region of the Eastern Cape, Dr Jane Pistorius, said it was important that farmers vaccinate their stock, even in areas to which the disease is not expected to spread . She expressed concern that many farmers did not report possible outbreaks of the disease because of the fact that China had stopped importing SA wool because of the disease.