8 research outputs found
Zoonotic disease research in East Africa
Abstract Background The East African region is endemic with multiple zoonotic diseases and is one of the hotspots for emerging infectious zoonotic diseases with reported multiple outbreaks of epidemic diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and Rift Valley Fever. Here we present a systematic assessment of published research on zoonotic diseases in the region and thesis research in Kenya to understand the regional research focus and trends in publications, and estimate proportion of theses research transitioning to peer-reviewed journal publications. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar and African Journals Online databases for publications on 36 zoonotic diseases identified to have occurred in the East Africa countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, for the period between 1920 and 2017. We searched libraries and queried online repositories for masters and PhD theses on these diseases produced between 1970 and 2016 in five universities and two research institutions in Kenya. Results We identified 771 journal articles on 22, and 168 theses on 21 of the 36 zoonotic diseases investigated. Research on zoonotic diseases increased exponentially with the last 10Â years of our study period contributing more than half of all publications 460 (60%) and theses 102 (61%) retrieved. Endemic diseases were the most studied accounting for 656 (85%) and 150 (89%) of the publication and theses studies respectively, with publications on epidemic diseases associated with outbreaks reported in the region or elsewhere. Epidemiological studies were the most common study types but limited to cross-sectional studies while socio-economics were the least studied. Only 11% of the theses research transitioned to peer-review publications, taking an average of 2.5Â years from theses production to manuscript publication. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate increased attention to zoonotic diseases in East Africa but reveal the need to expand the scope, focus and quality of studies to adequately address the public health, social and economic threats posed by zoonoses
Mean monthly actual rainfall (light shaded bars and left x-axis) recorded in the participating counties and number of suspect and probable Rift Valley Fever (RVF) herds (dark shaded bars and right x-axis) reported in Kenya, November 2015 –February 2016.
<p>Mean monthly actual rainfall (light shaded bars and left x-axis) recorded in the participating counties and number of suspect and probable Rift Valley Fever (RVF) herds (dark shaded bars and right x-axis) reported in Kenya, November 2015 –February 2016.</p
Time-series plots of the weekly reporting for each syndrome by whether flooding and/or mosquito swarms were observed by farmers in their area.
<p>Time-series plots of the weekly reporting for each syndrome by whether flooding and/or mosquito swarms were observed by farmers in their area.</p
Weekly number of abortions, bleeding, and death syndrome reports (top graph) and number of total reports (bottom graph) submitted to the Rift Valley Fever Alert Centre in Kenya, November 16, 2015 –February 29, 2016.
<p>The total number of reports includes both syndromic and healthy reports.</p
Map of Kenya showing selected Rift Valley Fever (RVF) high-risk counties in grey.
<p>A high-risk county was based on ecological and climatic factors associated with previous RVF outbreaks in Kenya, as defined by Munyua et al. [<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006353#pntd.0006353.ref019" target="_blank">19</a>]. The high-risk counties were selected for participation in the enhanced surveillance for RVF.</p
Number of livestock species observed with abortion, bleeding, or death<sup>*</sup>.
<p>Number of livestock species observed with abortion, bleeding, or death<sup><a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006353#t001fn001" target="_blank">*</a></sup>.</p
Rift Valley Fever IgG ELISA test results by species and county of origin, November 2015 to February 2016, Kenya.
<p>Rift Valley Fever IgG ELISA test results by species and county of origin, November 2015 to February 2016, Kenya.</p
Scatterplot and linear prediction of the correlation between the reporting of any syndrome (abortion, bleeding, or death) and observing flooding and mosquito swarms.
<p>These variables showed high correlation, based on Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r > 0.87, p<0.001).</p