Outbreak of Rift Valley fever--Yemen, August-October 2000

Abstract

On September 17, 2000, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MAI) and Ministry of Health (MOH) of Yemen received reports about the occurrence of disease compatible with Rift Valley fever (RVF) in El Zuhrah district of Hodeidah governorate. Reports of animal disease included abortions and deaths in young animals. Surveillance efforts by MOH and MAI documented widespread disease among humans and animals in the area of Wadi Mawr in El Zuhrah district, which is located on a coastal plain that extends from the southern tip of Yemen into the Jizan area of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health has described a simultaneous outbreak of RVF in the Jizan area in KSA (1,2). This report summarizes the investigation of the Yemen outbreak.