Kenyan authorities said Tuesday that the outbreak of Rift Valley Fever that has claimed 139 lives had passed its peak point.

"The worst is over. But we will still get sporadic cases in areas prone to the disease," said Shahnaaz Sharif, the government's chief medical specialist. Health Minister Charity Ngilu made similar remarks at a news conference in Nairobi and urged people to eat well-cooked meat, avoid contacts with the sick or dying animals and sleep in insecticide treated nets.

The Rift Valley Fever is a viral disease that affects mainly animals such as cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats. But it can also affect humans.

The disease is most common during years of heavy rainfalls.

People get Rift Valley Fever mainly from bites of infected mosquitoes and the disease can also be spread through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected animal.

Rift Valley Fever can cause serious eye infection, inflammation of the brain, severe bleeding (hemorrhage) and death.

Sharif said the viral fever, which has no vaccine for humans, has not reached the capital Nairobi, but two travellers, from northern Kenya, have died in the city's hospitals.

Ngilu said the disease has infected more than 400 people.

The government had embarked on a livestock vaccination campaign but has been criticized for being unable to reach the targeted 2 million cattle.

The disease has claimed the lives of two people near Arusha of northern Tanzania, raising fears of an outbreak in Tanzania.

Rift Valley Fever broke out early December, with many of the country's meat-eaters refusing to go near a plate of roast beef, despite the government's insistence that the outbreak is under control.

The government has banned the slaughter and sale of meat from some of the worst affected areas, mostly the country's remote northeast near the Somali border where most residents are nomadic herdsmen.

Buying and selling of meat has greatly decreased across the country. Very little activity has been reported at slaughterhouses at Coast and Northeastern provinces where the disease was first reported.

"We have asked the public to eat only inspected meat, avoid human-animal contact, bury or burn dead animals and observe basic hygiene," Ngilu said.

Source: Xinhua