The World Health Organization issued a Disease Outbreak News alert on Rift Valley fever in Mauritania and Senegal on 5 November 2025, confirming virus activity in both West African nations at the start of the Sahel's post-rainy-season period.

The alert places a zoonotic disease with direct relevance to livestock practice back on the regional radar. Rift Valley fever circulates primarily in ruminants — cattle, sheep, goats and camels — where it causes abortion storms and high neonatal mortality. Humans acquire infection mainly through direct contact with infected animal tissues or blood, and less often through mosquito bites.

What does the outbreak notification change?

For veterinarians and veterinary services in Mauritania, Senegal and neighboring countries, the WHO notification of 5 November 2025 signals a need for heightened clinical suspicion in aborting ruminants and unexplained livestock deaths. RVF outbreaks in the Sahel typically follow heavy rainfall and flooding, which expand mosquito vector populations of Aedes and Culex species.

The cross-border pattern matters for trade and movement controls. Saleyards, slaughter facilities and farms handling small ruminants are the principal points of occupational exposure for farmers, herders, butchers and veterinarians themselves.

How do the species and sector implications divide?

Food-animal implications. RVF is first and foremost a livestock disease. Suspected cases in cattle, sheep, goats or camels in the affected region warrant reporting to national veterinary authorities. Abortion in multiple animals within a herd is the hallmark presenting sign that should trigger suspicion.

Public-health implications. WHO classifies Rift Valley fever as a priority zoonotic disease. Human cases are generally linked to animal contact, so case finding in livestock precedes and predicts human infection. Most human infections are mild, but severe forms including hemorrhagic disease occur.

Companion-animal implications. Dogs and cats are not recognized reservoirs and play no meaningful epidemiological role in RVF, though the virus has been documented in some carnivore species in laboratory settings. Routine companion-animal practice is not a concern in this outbreak.

What should practitioners in the region do now?

Standard outbreak response measures for RVF rest on three pillars: vector control, livestock movement restriction, and vaccination of susceptible animals in unaffected areas — never during an active outbreak, since live attenuated vaccines can spread the virus.

Personal protection is part of clinical practice in an outbreak zone. Veterinarians conducting abortions, necropsies or slaughter inspections in Mauritania and Senegal should use gloves, protective clothing and care with body fluids and tissues.

WHO's 5 November 2025 Disease Outbreak News item serves as the reference notification for this event, and practitioners should track subsequent situation updates as the region moves deeper into the vector season.