Overview
The Zoonoses in Livestock in Kenya (ZooLinK) project is our newest activity. The goal of ZooLinK is to enable Kenya to develop an effective surveillance programme for zoonoses (meaning infectious diseases acquired through contact with animals or their products), which is, by design, integrated across both human and animal health sectors. To achieve this goal we will work in close collaboration with Kenyan government departments, working in western Kenya initially and using this as a model for a national programme.
The rationale for ZooLinK is that the presence and burden of zoonoses is greatly underestimated – as we know from our own research in the study region. In one recent but relatively small-scale study, we found 14 different zoonoses circulating in humans and their livestock. While estimating the current zoonotic disease burden is doubtless essential, another major objective is to understand how it will evolve in to the future. In Kenya, and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, far reaching changes are occurring in the agricultural sector, with major changes in livestock production systems in order to satisfy increased demand for livestock products. The most important changes are the commercialisation and intensification of what was previously subsistence farming, resulting in changes in trading patterns (e.g. the distances that livestock and their products are transported), and changes in favoured breeds and input supply systems. All of these affect the risk of zoonoses and other infectious diseases.
Sponser
University of Liverpool