AT LEAST 300 people have died in northeast Kenya from an illness that experts initially thought was anthrax. Thousands more are seriously ill. It has now been identified as the world's worst outbreak of Rift Valley fever for two decades.
Rift Valley fever is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes. The Kenyan outbreak was triggered by floods that brought burgeoning mosquito populations to the normally arid Garissa and Wajir districts.
The fever's initial symptoms of fever and headache can progress to haemorrhaging from the gums and nose, and in some cases a fatal coma. The similarity of these symptoms to those of the deadly bacterial infection anthrax initially sparked fears that the infamous cattle-borne disease had broken out. Scientists from the WHO have now found the Rift Valley fever virus in many of the sick people, although it is possible that other viruses may also be involved.
Devastating outbreaks of ...
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