Date: 7 Jan 2001 11:34:08 +0300
From: Shamsudeen Fagbo <oloungbo@zajil.net>
Source: Arab News, Sat 6 & Sun 7 Jan 2001 [edited]
Rift Valley Fever - Saudi Arabia: Update
-----------------------------------------
According to the latest press statement issued by the Ministry of Health,
114 people have died from Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the Kingdom since the
outbreak began in Jizan in September of last year. Of the 843 people
affected by the disease, 719 have now left hospital after full recovery.
[Presumably only 10 people remain in hospital now, suggesting that the
outbreak is in decline. - Mod.CP]
Mosquito breeding conditions are still rife, however, [and a cause of
continuing concern]. A team from the Ministry's Preventive Medicine Section
has visited the [Jeddah] region after the Health Department received a call
from the Presidency for Girls Education in Jeddah concerning the presence
of mosquito breeding swamps around girls schools in the area. The swamps in
the area [have been caused] by recent rain storms.
[However], a Health Ministry spokesman ruled out the possibility of an
outbreak of RVF in Jeddah. He said the single case reported in the city was
a Yemeni expatriate who had contracted the disease in Qunfuda and [had
come] to Jeddah for treatment.
--
Shamsudeen Fagbo, DVM
<oloungbo@zajil.net>
.
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