Pretoria- The number of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) infections in animals is on the decline says the National Health Department.
The department said the cooler weather has reduced transmission of the disease which has so far infected 149 people.
It also further reassured the public that there was no human to human spread of the disease in the country and that the disease is found in people who have had direct contact with the blood of infected animals.
The decrease in the number of reported cases was also attributed to the coordinated efforts of the departments of health and agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as the South African Field Epidemiology and Training Programme (SA-FELTP) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases Laboratory among others.
Among some of the response measures put in place were animal vaccinations as well as health promotion interventions.
The department has also trained 300 volunteers in the Free State while 200 others in the Northern Cape have been identified for training to intensify health education in order to prevent further incidents of the disease.
The department said that visitors coming for the World Cup in June are not at risk for contracting RVF unless they handle infected animals, their body fluids, carcasses or raw meat from infected animals.
However formal meat supply is well controlled as affected animals are excluded from the food chain in abattoirs. Game animals added the department, are rarely affected by the disease which typically affects sheep, cattle and goats.
Responding to media reports that a German tourist visiting farms and game reserves along the Eastern and Western Cape coasts had contracted the disease, the department said the exact mode of transmission is still being investigated.
"It should be noted that the risk of contracting this infection for tourists during the soccer world cup remains low, due to the approaching winter months when animal infections will be limited," said the department.
