Rift Valley Fever in South Africa

Rift valley fever is an important occupational disease of increasing importance in South Africa.  It is usually present in animals.  The human disease is related to human-animal interactions, specifically handling domestic livestock.  As part of my thesis investigating the increasing incidence of this illness in humans, I will be investigating the relationship between the human population (density, location), land-use/landcover, and disease incidence.  This will help characterize risk factors for rift valley fever, and hopefully guide interventions to curb this preventable illness.