The socioeconomic impacts of Rift Valley fever: A rapid review

TL;DR

This paper reviews the socioeconomic effects of Rift Valley fever outbreaks, highlighting impacts on food security, economies, and gender risks, while identifying key knowledge gaps.

Contribution

The first review to highlight gender-related knowledge gaps and the need for a One Health approach in understanding Rift Valley fever.

Findings

RVF outbreaks disrupt livestock trade, affecting food security and local economies.

Women's occupational risks and gender differences in RVF exposure remain poorly understood.

RVF's cross-boundary dynamics require a One Health approach for better surveillance and control.

Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a neglected vector-borne disease which is endemic in many countries across Africa and has seen recent geographical expansions into the Arabian Peninsula. RVF can cause severe infections in both animals and humans. RVF infections in livestock can lead to mass fatalities. In humans, the symptoms are nonspecific and can often lead to misdiagnosis. However, a small proportion progresses to haemorrhagic infection with a significantly higher mortality rate. The culmination of this can cause severe socioeconomic impacts.

This review aims to identify the main socioeconomic impacts caused by RVF outbreaks as well as existing knowledge gaps.

Ninety-three academic and grey papers were selected, covering 19 countries and 10 methodological approaches. A variety of socioeconomic impacts were found across all levels of society: Livestock trade disruptions consequently impacted local food security, local and national economies. Most livestock farmers in endemic countries are subsistence farmers and so rely on their livestock for sustenance and income. RVF outbreaks resulted in a variety of socioeconomic impacts, e.g., the inability to pay for school fees. Main barriers to vaccine uptake in communities were lack of access, funds, interest along with other social aspects. The occupational risks for women (and pregnant women) are largely unknown.

To our knowledge, this is the first review on RVF to highlight the clear knowledge gap surrounding the potential gender differences on risks of RVF exposure, as well as differences on occupational health risk in pastoral communities. Further work is required to fill the gaps identified in this review and inform control policies.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks have affected many regions globally with varying severity. The number of reported cases in animals and humans is patchy at best, with some countries not recording animal events. This review focuses on 3 main themes: Health Burden; Economic Impacts; and Prevention and Surveillance. The review explores socioeconomic impacts across local, regional, and national levels. We found women have varying degrees of risk to exposure of RVF; however, more research is required to better understand gender differences. RVF outbreaks tend to begin in livestock and spillover into humans. The complex disease dynamics are poorly understood because of the interactions between animals, humans, and the environment. This cross-boundary dynamics fall outside of the public health remit and into veterinary health. This allows for outbreaks to spread uncontrollably for some time. More research using a One Health Lens is required which explores these complex dynamics with the combination of different social aspects. This review highlights the wider impacts experienced at different levels of society and where there are major gaps in our knowledge. Further analysis into these gaps is required to and will aid policy makers in developing new control measures around RVF.

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