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Risk assessment of the introduction of Rift Valley fever from the Horn of Africa to Yemen via legal trade of small ruminants

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Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis of increasing global importance. Occurring since 1930 across Africa, it was detected for the first time in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in September 2000, leading to human deaths and major losses in livestock populations. Assuming the virus has not survived in Yemen or has been circulating at a low level, authors qualitatively assessed the likelihood of “re-introduction” of RVF into Yemen through the legal importation of small ruminants from the Horn of Africa. The overall probability of introduction was assessed very low to medium, increasing during festival periods and higher when considering a direct transmission exposure as compared to a vectorial transmission exposure. The uncertainty was considered to be medium underlining important gaps in information that need to be fulfilled in the region. Options to reduce the risk are proposed and discussed, including possible improvements of the current Yemeni quarantine system.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express gratitude to Yemen government, French embassy in Sana’a (Yemen) and CIRAD (Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), Montpellier for the grant of this study. We are thankful to Dr. Mansoor Al-Qadasi, Ghaleb El-Eryani and Mr. Mahmood-Alsame for providing data and support. We thank also Marie Gely for the help in realizing Figs. 1 and 2.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIRAD, UR AGIRs, Campus International de Baillarguet, TA-C22/E, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Shaif Abdo-Salem, Agnès Waret-Szkuta, François Roger, Marie-Marie Olive & Véronique Chevalier

  2. College of Veterinary Science, University of Dhamar, Dhamar, Yemen

    Shaif Abdo-Salem

  3. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Sana’a, Yemen

    Khalid Saeed

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  1. Shaif Abdo-Salem
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  2. Agnès Waret-Szkuta
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  3. François Roger
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  4. Marie-Marie Olive
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  5. Khalid Saeed
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  6. Véronique Chevalier
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Correspondence to Agnès Waret-Szkuta.

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Abdo-Salem, S., Waret-Szkuta, A., Roger, F. et al. Risk assessment of the introduction of Rift Valley fever from the Horn of Africa to Yemen via legal trade of small ruminants. Trop Anim Health Prod 43, 471–480 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-010-9719-7

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