Sep, http://www.who.int/ 9. analysis demonstrated that nationality and daily hours of function forecasted 84.1% from the occurrence of RVF. Suggestions: Sero-surveys ought to be performed among slaughterhouse workers in Saudi Arabia and various other countries especially in countries regarded as clear of RVF, e.g. Bangladesh and Syria to measure the circumstance of RVF. The importation of pets from endemic areas ought to be prohibited. strong course=”kwd-title” Keywords: em Rift valley fever /em , em slaughterhouses /em , em Hajj /em Launch Rift valley fever (RVF), a viral disease of pets aswell as human beings, causes regular epizootics with large losses among local pets and in human beings. The condition manifests from a febrile disease to fatal haemorrhagic fever, with probable later complications of encephalitis or ocular disease connected with considerable human mortality and morbidity.1,2 Since 1930, when the trojan was initially isolated during a study into an epidemic amongst sheep on the plantation in the Rift Valley in Kenya, many outbreaks of RFV possess occurred in a few nationwide countries in Africa in following years with a huge selection of fatalities.1,3 Mediterranean and southwest Asian regions are receptive areas.4 Although mosquito bites constitute the primary path of infection, connection with the bloodstream of a sick and tired animal causes transmitting of the trojan to human beings via inoculation or inhalation.5 Animals slaughtered in Hajj are imported from different countries like the Rift Citric acid trilithium salt tetrahydrate Valley endemic areas. People employed in slaughterhouses are in potentially high occupational risk of rift valley fever infections on account of their contact with animal blood. They represent a useful sentinel population for the surveillance of rift valley contamination.6 No studies around the prevalence of RVF among this high-risk group have been conducted in Saudi Arabia. The aim of the present work was to determine the seroprevalence of RVF among slaughterhouse personnel in Makkah during Hajj and to define some personal and work place correlates. MATERIALS AND METHODS In Makkah, there are four permanent slaughterhouses, each with an area of 750-50000 square meters. In Mina there Citric acid trilithium salt tetrahydrate five slaughterhouses, much larger in area than those in Makkah, with areas ranging from 50000 C 320000 square meters. A total sample of Citric acid trilithium salt tetrahydrate 294 slaughterhouse workers was chosen: 160 from Mina and 134 from Makkah. Since there was no information on the number of workers in each slaughterhouse in Mina, an equal number (32) was randomly chosen from each slaughterhouse. In Makkah, proportional allocation method was used to recruit the required sample. Within the slaughterhouse, they were selected randomly. Data were collected from the morning of 10 Dhul-Hajjah through the evening of 13 Dhul-Hajjah (27-30 March 1999) using a pre-designed questionnaire that was completed through interviews with butchers and servants. The information collected consisted of personal data, e. g. age, nationality, and work-related factors, e.g. functions, hours of work, compensation and vaccination. A blood sample of 10cc venous blood was collected from each participant. Samples were kept in ice containers for transfer to the laboratory where they were centrifuged and stored at C60C. The refrigerated samples were transferred to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA where enzyme immunoassay for IgG antibody using killed antigen for rift valley virus was performed. The criteria for a positive result included both adjusted sum of absorbance for the four dilutions tested (1:100, 1:400, 1:600 & 1:6400) of serum 1.0 and dilution end point of 400. Sera that VCL met one criterion were considered positive. RESULTS The total sample included 294 persons working in slaughterhouses. Their ages ranged from 21-60 years with a mean of 36.1 7.9 years. Among them, 50 persons (17%) were seropositive for rift valley fever. Table 1 shows that slaughterhouse personnel from Niger and Mali had the highest contamination rate (50 and 47.1%, respectively), followed by those from Bangladesh (22.6%) and Egypt (21.2%). A round one tenth (10.6%) of the Syrians were infected. There was a significant statistical association between nationality and prevalence of RVF. None of the participants reported being vaccinated against RVF. The infection rate ranged from 12 to 26.1% Citric acid trilithium salt tetrahydrate in workers whose job was to remove the skin from the carcass. However, the association between occupation and prevalence of RVF was not statistically significant (p 0.05). Of those who reported history of fever, 35% tested positive to RVF compared to 15.7% among non-reporters. There was significant statistical association between the history of fever during the last year and the prevalence of RVF (p 0.05). Table 1 Personal.
