One Health surveillance: linking human and animal rabies surveillance data in Kenya

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country institute
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research institute
cg.contributor.affiliationDirectorate of Livestock Policy, Research and Regulations, Kenya
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Institute
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Nairobi
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Edinburgh
cg.contributor.affiliationWashington State University
cg.contributor.donorFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
cg.contributor.donorGates Foundation
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierSamuel Kahariri: 0000-0002-3190-8543
cg.creator.identifierLian Thomas: 0000-0001-8447-1210
cg.creator.identifierBernard Bett: 0000-0001-9376-2941
cg.howPublishedFormally Published
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1594162
cg.isijournalISI Journal
cg.issn2296-2565
cg.journalFrontiers in Public Health
cg.reviewStatusPeer Review
cg.subject.ilriANIMAL HEALTH
cg.subject.ilriHUMAN HEALTH
cg.subject.ilriONE HEALTH
cg.subject.ilriZOONOTIC DISEASES
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food security
cg.subject.sdgSDG 3 - Good health and well-being
cg.volume13
dc.contributor.authorKahariri, Samuel
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Lian F.
dc.contributor.authorBett, Bernard K.
dc.contributor.authorMureithi, M.
dc.contributor.authorNjuguna, B.
dc.contributor.authorMutono, N.
dc.contributor.authorMwangi, T.
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-16T10:20:48Z
dc.date.available2025-06-16T10:20:48Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/175103
dc.titleOne Health surveillance: linking human and animal rabies surveillance data in Kenyaen
dcterms.abstractIntroduction: Rabies poses a significant public health and economic challenge in Kenya. The Kenya rabies elimination strategy identifies surveillance as a key pillar to achieve the targets of ending human deaths from rabies by 2030. Here we investigated the utility of the national human and animal rabies surveillance data to provide robust surveillance data to guide the Kenya rabies elimination program. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the official rabies data obtained from the national human and animal health surveillance systems between 2017 and 2023. We obtained data on bites, cases, and deaths in dogs and humans due to rabies. We estimated incidences and tested the relationships between rabies variables in human and dogs as a proxy for robust data availability. Results: On average, there were 162 cases and 84 deaths in dogs, while in humans, there were 53 cases and 6 deaths. We found positive correlations between dog bites and cases of dog rabies [RR = 1.33, 95% credible interval (CI): 1.16, 1.54], deaths and rabies cases in dogs (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14) and death cases and dog bites (RR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.98). However, relationships between rabies cases and dog bites in humans were not statistically significant (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.03), whereas rabies cases in dogs and humans were negatively correlated (RR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.94). Discussion: The findings indicate that Kenya’s rabies surveillance system effectively captures trends in dog rabies but has gaps in human rabies case reporting. The weak relationship between rabies cases and dog bites in humans and the negative correlation between rabies cases in dogs and humans point to potential underreporting of human cases, that could be possibly driven by misdiagnosis or limited access to healthcare, or effective post-exposure treatment. Conclusion: Understanding these relationships is critical for improving the surveillance systems that can effectively support the rabies elimination program.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademics
dcterms.audienceScientists
dcterms.available2025-06-16
dcterms.bibliographicCitationKahariri, S., Thomas, L.F., Bett, B., Mureithi, M., Njuguna, B., Mutono, N. and Mwangi, T. 2025. One Health surveillance: linking human and animal rabies surveillance data in Kenya. Frontiers in Public Health 13: 1594162.
dcterms.extent1594162
dcterms.issued2025-06-16
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherFrontiers Media
dcterms.subjectanimal health
dcterms.subjecthealth
dcterms.subjectone health approach
dcterms.subjectrabies
dcterms.subjectzoonoses
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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