Rift valley fever in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

A 40 year old Saudi man, a fire fighter by profession and resident in Najran, was diagnosed with Rift Valley fever on 28 April 2010. On 23 April, he presented with clinical signs of haemorrhagic fever to a health facility in Najran run by the Ministry of Health. He was hospitalized on the same day and his blood sample was sent to the Central Public Health Laboratory [Riyadh] and tested for various viral haemorrhagic fevers. The sample tested positive for Rift Valley Fever [RVF] on real time RT-PCR. Serological tests for Rift Valley fever virus IgM and IgG were negative. The patient recovered from his illness and was discharged from the hospital on 30 April 2010