Towards a better understanding of Rift Valley fever epidemiology in the south-west of the Indian Ocean.

Thomas Balenghien (1) , Eric Cardinale (2, 1) , Véronique Chevalier (3) , Nohal Elissa (4) , Anna-Bella Failloux (5) , Thiery Nirina Jean Jose Nipomichene (4) , Gaelle Nicolas (3) , Vincent Michel Rakotoharinome (6) , Matthieu Roger (1) , Betty Zumbo (7)

1 UMR CMAEE - Contrôle des maladies animales exotiques et émergentes
2 CRVOI - Centre de Recherche et de Veille sur les Maladies Émergentes dans l'Océan Indien
3 UPR AGIRs - Animal et gestion intégrée des risques
4 IPM - Unité d'Entomologie Médicale [Antananarivo, Madagascar]
5 Arbovirus et Insectes Vecteurs - Arboviruses and Insect Vectors
6 Direction de la santé animale et phytosanitaire
7 Service de lutte anti-vectorielle

: Rift Valley fever virus (Phlebovirus, Bunyaviridae) is an arbovirus causing intermittent epizootics and sporadic epidemics primarily in East Africa. Infection causes severe and often fatal illness in young sheep, goats and cattle. Domestic animals and humans can be contaminated by close contact with infectious tissues or through mosquito infectious bites. Rift Valley fever virus was historically restricted to sub-Saharan countries. The probability of Rift Valley fever emerging in virgin areas is likely to be increasing. Its geographical range has extended over the past years. As a recent example, autochthonous cases of Rift Valley fever were recorded in 2007--2008 in Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. It has been proposed that a single infected animal that enters a naive country is sufficient to initiate a major outbreak before Rift Valley fever virus would ever be detected. Unless vaccines are available and widely used to limit its expansion, Rift Valley fever will continue to be a critical issue for human and animal health in the region of the Indian Ocean.

Domains: Veterinary medicine and animal Health

Thomas Balenghien, Eric Cardinale, Véronique Chevalier, Nohal Elissa, Anna-Bella Failloux, et al.. Towards a better understanding of Rift Valley fever epidemiology in the south-west of the Indian Ocean.. Veterinary Research, 2013, 44 (1), pp.78. ⟨10.1186/1297-9716-44-78⟩. ⟨pasteur-00868770⟩