Senegal’s Health Minister Ibrahima Sy has said that a recent outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the northern Saint-Louis region has caused seven deaths. According to the head of epidemiological surveillance at the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, Boli Diop, it is a zoonotic disease caused by the RVF virus. He said, it primarily transmitted among animals, and it can also infect humans who are associated with contact with blood or organs of infected animals.

At an epidemic control meeting held in Saint-Louis yesterday, Sy said that the health authorities, in coordination with the livestock department, have intensified preventive measures to curb the further spread of the disease. The Saint-Louis region had officially reported its first RVF cases on Thursday. In recent decades, the disease has repeatedly emerged in West Africa, affecting countries including Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment or approved vaccine for humans.