Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, 25-28 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris, cedex 15, France.
Vet Res. 2013 Sep 9;44(1):78. doi: 10.1186/1297-9716-44-78.
Rift Valley fever virus (Phlebovirus, Bunyaviridae) is an arbovirus causing intermittent epizootics and sporadic epidemics primarily in East Africa. Infection causes severe and often fatal illness in young sheep, goats and cattle. Domestic animals and humans can be contaminated by close contact with infectious tissues or through mosquito infectious bites. Rift Valley fever virus was historically restricted to sub-Saharan countries. The probability of Rift Valley fever emerging in virgin areas is likely to be increasing. Its geographical range has extended over the past years. As a recent example, autochthonous cases of Rift Valley fever were recorded in 2007-2008 in Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. It has been proposed that a single infected animal that enters a naive country is sufficient to initiate a major outbreak before Rift Valley fever virus would ever be detected. Unless vaccines are available and widely used to limit its expansion, Rift Valley fever will continue to be a critical issue for human and animal health in the region of the Indian Ocean.
裂谷热病毒（布尼亚病毒科，白蛉病毒属）是一种虫媒病毒，主要在东非引发间歇性的动物流行病和偶发性的人间流行病。这种病毒会导致绵羊、山羊和牛等幼畜出现严重甚至致命的疾病。家畜和人类可能会因接触受感染的组织或被携带病毒的蚊子叮咬而受到感染。裂谷热病毒曾局限于撒哈拉以南的非洲国家。在从未发生过该病的地区，裂谷热病毒出现的概率可能正在增加。近年来，该病毒的地理分布范围已经扩大。最近的一个例子是，印度洋的马约特岛在 2007-2008 年曾记录到本地裂谷热病例。有观点认为，只需一只受感染的动物进入一个无该病的国家，就足以引发一次大规模的暴发，而在此之前，甚至可能还无法检测到裂谷热病毒。除非有疫苗可用并被广泛用于限制其传播，否则裂谷热将继续成为印度洋地区人类和动物健康的一个重大问题。
