JEDDAH, 26 April 2004 — Saudi authorities have lifted a three-year-old ban on the movement of livestock between regions hit by Rift Valley Fever (RVF).
Agriculture Minister Dr. Fahd Balghaneim, who announced the decision, urged precautionary measures to prevent further outbreaks of the disease.
The ban was imposed on animals in Jizan, the Tihama areas of Asir, Makkah and Baha regions, Qunfudha, Najran and Tihama Qahtan. The RVF outbreak in Jizan killed more than 125 people three years ago.
“The authorities agreed to lift the ban in light of a ministerial committee report,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Dr. Balghaneim as saying.
The committee, chaired by Interior Minister Prince Naif included the ministers of municipal and rural affairs, health and agriculture.
The report said the campaign to contain the disease had been successful. “The situation is now stable as no RVF viral activity has been found in humans, animals or mosquitoes,” he said.
The committee also took into account the recommendations of international organizations related to contagious and animal diseases, and those of a panel studying the ban’s economic effect.
Dr. Balghaneim urged the authorities to be cautious about the RVF virus, which is capable of surviving in the eggs of mosquitoes for a long time and can surface whenever its finds a hospitable environment.
The minister advised cattle owners intending to transport their animals from RVF affected areas to other parts of the Kingdom to contact the ministry in advance.
The Agriculture Ministry has set up an early warning unit to monitor and contain infectious diseases affecting agricultural and animal resources in certain regions before they spread to other parts of the Kingdom.
The ministry also established a laboratory in Jizan to carry out medical tests and check the effectiveness of insecticides.
“The situation is safer now as tests of mosquitoes found that they no longer carry the virus that causes the disease,” the minister said.
RVF primarily affects animals but occasionally causes illness in humans, where it leads to high morbidity and mortality.
According to the World Health Organization, many different species of mosquitoes are vectors for the RVF virus.
