Deadly Virus Found in Livestock Milk.

• Position: RIFT VALLEY FEVER

Earlier this year, two Stanford University researchers and their colleagues in Kenya made a surprising discovery: a sample of fresh milk, brought to an urban center for sale, harbored the deadly virus that causes Rift Valley fever, a disease that causes severe symptoms in some types of livestock; it is one of the World Health Organization's nine priority diseases, so designated for its potent consequences, in animals and humans. While most people who contract the disease experience only mild illness, about 10% either die from it or develop severe symptoms, including hemorrhagic fever, eye disease, and brain inflammation.

People can acquire the disease after handling sick livestock, such as goats, sheep, or cattle, or after a mosquito infected with the virus bites them, says Desiree LaBeaud, professor of pediatrics, who, along with Keli Gerken, a postdoctoral scholar, led the study that discovered the virus in livestock milk.

Although the study does not confirm...