A UN press statement said Friday that officials in Madagascar have asked the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health to undertake a joint mission to the country to support their efforts to contain theviral hemorrhagic disease.
Madagascar's health ministry reported that the fatalities were from the Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinakaratra and Anosy regions. The ministry is conducting countermeasures such as case management, surveillance, social mobilization, provision of medicines, prevention and strengthening of hospital infection control.
Animal infection usually precedes human cases of RVF. The agriculture ministry detected RVF infection in livestock on April 9.
The disease is transmitted to humans through mosquitos or contact with infected material and liquids, such as animal blood during slaughtering. The uncooked milk of infected animals can also pose a risk.
No cases of human-to-human transmission of RVF have ever been reported. Aside from fever, symptoms of RVF infection are muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients develop lesions in their eyes and suffer neurological problems, liver impairment and widespread bleeding.
