Traditional knowledge key to managing Rift Valley fever

By assessing key risk factors and symptoms, such as an increase in rainfall and high abortion rates, Somali and Maasai herders accurately predicted the outbreak of Rift Valley fever in 2006/07 long before veterinary and public health interventions began, researchers have discovered. “Timely outbreak response requires effective early warning and surveillance systems,” say authors of a study. “This study points out the important role that livestock keepers can play in veterinary surveillance.”