A retrospective study of Rift Valley fever in Saudi Arabia.

A retrospective study was undertaken to examine domestic ruminant sera for Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus antibodies. The sera were collected between 1992 and 1995 from cattle, sheep and goats from various locations in Saudi Arabia. The standard capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system was employed to detect specific RVF antibodies in the animals and the results indicated an absence of RVF antibodies. This finding confirms the assumption that Saudi Arabia was free from RVF up until at least 1995 and most probably before the 2000 epidemic. The finding also confirms that RVF was not endemic in Saudi Arabia.