title: The Risk of Nosocomial Transmission of Rift Valley Fever.
abstract: In 2000, we investigated the Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreak on the Arabian Peninsula-the first outside Africa-and the risk of nosocomial transmission. In a cross-sectional design, during the peak of the epidemic at its epicenter, we found four (0.6%) of 703 healthcare workers (HCWs) IgM seropositive but all with only community-associated exposures. Standard precautions are sufficient for HCWs exposed to known RVF patients, in contrast to other viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) such as Ebola virus disease (EVD) in which the route of transmission differs. Suspected VHF in which the etiology is uncertain should be initially managed with the most cautious infection control measures.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Nasser A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Al-Hamdan
authors.affiliation: United States Public Health Service (USPHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anil A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Panackal
authors.affiliation: Hafr Albatin Health Region, Hafr Albatin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tami H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Al Bassam
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Imam University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alrabea
authors.affiliation: King Fahad Central Hospital, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Hazmi
authors.affiliation: Health Services Council, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Yagoub
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Al Mazroa
authors.affiliation: Preventive Medicine Department, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Jefri
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ali S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Galveston National Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Ksiazek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000635:transmission; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012295:Rift Valley Fever / Q000635:transmission*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral