THREE veterinary officials in Mpumalanga have contracted Rift Valley fever after doing autopsies on infected animals in the Kruger National Park and adjoining game reserves, the Mpumalanga health department said on Tuesday. Communicable disease control consultant Dr David Durrheim said the rainfall in the province and growth of the mosquito population has caused the outbreak, which killed many people in East Africa last year. Rift Valley fever is a viral disease spread between domestic animals such as cattle, sheep and goats by mosquitoes. Humans become infected when eating or handling infected meat and usually recover within two weeks, although — in severe cases — blindness and death can occur.