Integrated Community-Based Reporting and Field Diagnostics for Improved Rabies Surveillance in Rural Laikipia, Kenya.

ABSTRACT: Rabies vaccination in domestic dog populations has increased globally in a bid to protect human health. Surveillance efforts, however, are inconsistent in endemic regions such as in sub-Saharan Africa, due to fragmented reporting and limited diagnostic capacity for suspected cases, limiting successful monitoring and evaluation of vaccination campaigns. Here, we conducted a pilot study aiming to strengthen rabies surveillance by combining community-based surveillance with field-based diagnostic testing in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in central Kenya; communities which are frequently marginalised from health systems. During the 6-month pilot study, there were 14 alerts of suspected rabid dogs in the community, of which eight were tested and five diagnostically confirmed as rabid.

SUBMITTER: Odinga CO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11772914 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature