Agence France-Presse
RIYADH, Saudi
Arabia -
The Rift Valley fever virus has claimed over 200 lives since it
was first reported in the Arabian peninsula, Yememi and Saudi
health ministers said Friday.
In a statement
carried by the SPA news agency, the ministry said "112 people
died of RVF up to to the beginning of Friday afternoon and 815
people in all have contracted the disease, of whom 688 have (been
released from care) after treatment."
In neighboring
Yemen, according to a health ministry bulletin at the end of October,
RVF had claimed the lives of 109 people.
The symptoms
of Rift Valley Fever include hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis and
eye problems, although human deaths are supposed to be rare, according
to experts.
The virus
is usually contracted from mosquitoes, or by contact with the
blood, bodily fluids or organs of infected animals.
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