Rift Valley fever antibody in human sera collected after an outbreak in domestic animals in Kenya

Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus is a member of the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus (BISHOP et al., 1980). As first described by DAUBNEY et al. (1931), the disease was a highly fatal epizootic of sheep at a farm north of Lake Naiasha, Kenya. Since that time, periodic epizootics of RVF have been recorded in Kenya. They principally involved domestic sheep and cattle populations, particularly those imported into the country. Human cases have occurred in laboratory workers and people associate with the affected animals, but are comparatively rare.