•According to the World Health Organisation, the virus was first identified in 1931 in a sheep epidemic on a farm in the Rift Valley
•The disease is mostly seen in domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and camels
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The Health Ministry on Friday raised an alert over a case of Rift Valley Fever that had been confirmed in a human.
Acting Health DG Patrick Amoth said this marks the first reported human case in the country.
The case was confirmed in an individual from Turbi in the North Horr subcounty in Marsabit county.
Experts are conducting further investigations to ascertain if there might be any additional cases and assess the extent of the outbreak.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease that affects animals but also can infect humans.
How it is transmitted
It is transmitted by mosquitoes and blood-feeding flies.
According to the World Health Organisation, the virus was first identified in 1931 in a sheep epidemic on a farm in the Rift Valley.
The disease is mostly seen in domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and camels.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people can get RVF through contact with blood, body fluids, or tissues of infected animals, or through bites from infected mosquitoes.
WHO on the other hand notes that the virus can be transmitted to humans through the handling of animal tissue during slaughtering or butchering.
The virus can also be transmitted when humans assist with animal births, conduct veterinary procedures or dispose of carcasses or fetuses.
"Although RVF often causes severe illness in animals, most people with RVF have either no symptoms or a mild illness with fever, weakness, back pain, and dizziness," the CDC says.
CDC, however, warns that a small percentage of people with RVF develop more severe symptoms, including eye disease, haemorrhage and swelling of the brain.
Certain occupational groups such as herders, farmers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians are at higher risk of infection.
Incubation period
The WHO estimates the incubation period (the interval from infection to onset of symptoms) for RVF to be between two to six days.
"Some patients develop neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and vomiting; in these patients, the disease, in its early stages, may be mistaken for meningitis," WHO says.
Because the symptoms of Rift Valley fever are varied and non-specific, definitive diagnosis requires testing that is available only in reference laboratories.
How to prevent it
Public health officers advise that to reduce the risk of infection, it is important to practice hand hygiene.
Wearing gloves and other appropriate individual protective equipment when handling sick animals or their tissues or when slaughtering animals is also encouraged.
To reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission, it is also advisable that you cook all animal products such as blood, meat and milk thoroughly before eating.