Title : Characteristics of RVF PCR confirmed patients and factors associated with virulence, Rwanda, 2026
Abstract:
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonotic disease that has caused significant outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa, including a recent outbreak in Rwanda in 2022 with 1,339 confirmed animal cases and 174 confirmed human cases with 22 deaths. This study aimed to characterize the factors associated with the severity of RVF cases among humans in Rwanda. This cross-sectional study was conducted among RVF PCR-confirmed patients from April to June 2026 in Rwanda. Active surveillance was established to enroll anyone who went seeking care at the health facility with fever and one of the following symptoms: headache, joint pain, general body weakness, muscle pain, abdominal pain, headache, or bleeding from any orifice without any other identified cause of hemorrhage and tested negative for Malaria. The samples from 910 suspected cases, 174 tested positive for RVF. The findings have been correlated with the patient’s details on Sociodemographic, exposure type, and clinical information. Among 174 confirmed cases, 22 died. Here 133 (76.4%) were males, farmers were 138(79.3%) while more than a half (55.2%) were in the age of under 25 years. Regarding the exposure, 39.1% reported participating in animal slaughtering activities within 6 days, 31.6% reported mosquito bites, 23% handled sick animals, and 6.3% consumed unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat. Severe clinical outcomes to death were associated with delays in heath facility seeking medical care to four days since the symptoms at 6 (OR: 5.51, CI: 2.32-13.12) times. Patients presenting with bleeding conditions were 36 times more likely to die compared to RVF patients without bleeding (OR: 36.26, 95% CI: 0-6.35). The study identified key risk factors and clinical characteristics associated with RVF virulence, these findings call upon the need for targeted interventions to improve prevention and early seeking care among patients, as far as the revamped resources to treat viral hemorrhagic fever diseases which result in bleeding.
