Reemergence of Rift Valley Fever, Mauritania, 2010

A Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreak in humans and animals occurred in Mauritania in 2010. Thirty cases of RVF in humans and 3 deaths were identified. RVFV isolates were recovered from humans, camels, sheep, goats, and Culex antennatus mosquitoes. Phylogenetic analysis of isolates indicated a virus origin from western Africa. R ift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute febrile viral disease that affects domestic ruminants and humans. The disease in animals is characterized by abortions among pregnant females and high mortality rates for offspring (1). The causative pathogen, RVF virus (RVFV), is a member of the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus, and its genome consists of 3 RNA segments: large (L), medium (M), and small (S) (2). In human infections, symptoms are generally mild but may evolve to severe symptoms, such as hemorrhaging, meningoencephalitis, and retinopathy, with fatal outcomes (3). RVF is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen (4). In western Africa, a major RVF outbreak occurred in Mauritania and Senegal in 1987 and resulted in 220 human deaths (5). This outbreak was followed by epizootics/epidemics in 1998 and 2003 in different provinces in Mauritania (Hodh El Gharbi, Assaba, Brakna, Trarza, and Gorgol Provinces) (6,7).