Outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in Sudan

An outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever has spread through the White Nile, Sennar and Jazeera provinces of central and eastern Sudan. Originally though to be Yellow fever, a WHO-led investigation recently discovered the outbreak is in fact Rift Valley fever, after laboratory tests results came through last Friday. A

lthough the specific epidemiology of the outbreak (including when and where the first cases occurred) is currently unknown, it is estimated that more than 125 people have been infected, of which over 60 have died. For Rift Valley fever virus, a species of the Bunyaviridae family, genus Phlebovirus, this fatality rate is unusually high. However, the WHO believes that it may be skewed by the under-reporting of mild infections.

“Rift Valley Fever kills 60 people in Sudan – WHO.”
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-Claire