{"id":1406,"date":"2015-04-22T12:55:47","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T12:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/2015\/04\/22\/department-calls-on-farmers-to-vaccinate-their-livestock-against-rift-valley-fever-2\/"},"modified":"2015-04-22T12:55:47","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T12:55:47","slug":"department-calls-on-farmers-to-vaccinate-their-livestock-against-rift-valley-fever-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/2015\/04\/22\/department-calls-on-farmers-to-vaccinate-their-livestock-against-rift-valley-fever-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Department calls on farmers to vaccinate their livestock against Rift Valley fever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development\u2019s Veterinary Service is appealing to all farmers to vaccinate their livestock before the rainy season starts. Early this year the department experienced an outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever where two human cases were confirmed in the Calvinia area. A farmer and a farm worker tested positive for the disease after handling a sick animal.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans, leading to high rate of diseases and death.\u00a0 Vaccination of livestock against the disease remains the primary prevention measure as there is no treatment for Rift Valley Fever.<\/p>\n<p>The department reiterates its call to farmers and farm workers to use protective clothing such as gloves, mask and goggles at all times when handling sick and dead animals. Communities are also encouraged not to slaughter or eat meat from sick or dead animals. END<\/p>\n<p>Issued by: Directorate Communication<br \/>Source:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.<br \/>Enquiries: Phemelo Manankong<br \/>Tel:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 053 839 7881<br \/>Cell:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 071 8895 112<br \/>Email:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 pmanankong@ncpg.gov.za<\/p>\n<p>Editors Notes<\/p>\n<p>FACTS ABOUT RVF<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>RVF is mosquito borne viral disease primarily affecting livestock but can also Infect humans.<\/li>\n<li>No human-to-human transmission of RVF has been documented<\/li>\n<li>Several different species of mosquito are able to act as vectors for transmission of the RVF virus.<\/li>\n<li>Currently there no treatment for both human and livestock<\/li>\n<li>RVF outbreak can be\u00a0 triggered during heavy rains and floods,<\/li>\n<li>Eggs hatch large numbers of infected mosquitoes that transmit the virus to livestock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>RVF RISK FACTORS<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Exposure to infected mosquitos, especially when sleeping outdoors in areas where the outbreak occurs<\/li>\n<li>Occupational contact with livestock e.g herdsmen,\u00a0 abattoir workers, veterinarians,\u00a0 farmers<\/li>\n<li>Handling tissues\/meat of RVF infected animals e.g. home slaughtering.<\/li>\n<li>Unvaccinated livestock<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CLINICAL SIGNS ( Sheep, Goats &amp; Cattle)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Abortions\u00a0 in livestock especially sheep<\/li>\n<li>Deaths of\u00a0 livestock especially young animals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>PREVENTION ( Sheep, Goats &amp; Cattle).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccinate your livestock against RVF<\/li>\n<li>Apply livestock insect repellents weekly during the outbreak period<\/li>\n<li>Report livestock mortalities and abortions to your local State or Private Veterinarian<\/li>\n<li>Avoid to keep your livestock in low lying areas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CLINICAL SIGNS (Humans)<\/p>\n<p>Mild form of RVF in humans<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No detectable symptoms<\/li>\n<li>Flu-like fever, muscle pain, joint pain and headache.<\/li>\n<li>Neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and vomiting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Severe form of RVF in humans<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ocular form:\u00a0\u00a0 blurred or decreased vision.<\/li>\n<li>Meningoencephalitis form:\u00a0\u00a0 Headache, loss of memory, hallucinations, confusion, disorientation, vertigo, convulsions, lethargy and coma.<\/li>\n<li>Haemorrhagic fever form:. vomiting blood, passing blood in the faeces, a purpuric rash or ecchymoses (caused by bleeding in the skin), bleeding from the nose or gums.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you experience any of the above mentioned symptoms please visit your nearest clinic\/hospital<\/p>\n<p>PREVENTION ( Humans)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use protective clothing\u00a0 (gloves, face masks) when handling dead animals or aborted foetuses<\/li>\n<li>Avoid mosquito bites( mosquito repellents, nets, electric fans etc)<\/li>\n<li>Do not slaughter sick animals during RFV outbreak<\/li>\n<li>Do not EAT meat from animals that have died of ANY sickness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development\u2019s Veterinary Service is appealing to all farmers to vaccinate their livestock before the rainy season starts. Early this year the department experienced an outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever where two human cases were confirmed in the Calvinia area. A farmer and a farm<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/2015\/04\/22\/department-calls-on-farmers-to-vaccinate-their-livestock-against-rift-valley-fever-2\/\" class=\"themebutton2\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northerncape.gov.za\/daerl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}