Do Kenya’s camel handlers face a threat from MERS? What we found
Agri-Health / AHH / Camels / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / MERS / News clipping / Zoonotic Diseases

Do Kenya’s camel handlers face a threat from MERS? What we found

In Kenya, camels are a very popular animal to keep as livestock. There’s value in their meat and milk products and as a result, there are now over three million camels in the country. But there is a danger that the people who come into contact with camels, and their products, face getting the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). MERS is a disease in people caused by a coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which was first identified in Saudia Arabia in 2012. Continue reading

Scientists stress need, amid COVID-19, to maintain focus on everyday zoonotic diseases of the world’s poor
Africa / Agri-Health / AHH / Brucellosis / COVID19 / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / ILRI / News clipping / OneHealth / Opinion piece / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Trypanosomiasis / Zoonotic Diseases

Scientists stress need, amid COVID-19, to maintain focus on everyday zoonotic diseases of the world’s poor

Most diseases that transmit from animals to humans (zoonoses) are not of the headline-grabbing, world-stopping variety write Eric Fèvre and Naomi Marks. They are an everyday reality for millions of people whose lives are quietly blighted or prematurely ended by diseases transmitted through farming and food systems. Continue reading

Domestic livestock not a source of the COVID-19 disease—ILRI veterinary epidemiologist Eric Fevre
Agri-Health / AHH / COVID19 / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Human Health / ILRI / Livestock / News clipping / Zoonotic Diseases

Domestic livestock not a source of the COVID-19 disease—ILRI veterinary epidemiologist Eric Fevre

Eric Fèvre, professor of veterinary infectious diseases at the University of Liverpool and jointly appointed at the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, . . . says people should not be concerned about their domestic livestock becoming a COVID-19 source. Continue reading

Over-diagnosis of the milk-linked brucellosis disease in Kenya found—New study
Agri-Health / AHH / Brucellosis / Cattle / Diagnostics / Disease Control / East Africa / Epidemiology / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / News clipping / Policy / Science paper / Zoonotic Diseases

Over-diagnosis of the milk-linked brucellosis disease in Kenya found—New study

Thousands of Kenyans are being wrongly diagnosed and treated for the milk linked disease brucellosis, reveals a new study. Now researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and six international institutions, want the responsible test withdrawn from public hospitals. Continue reading

Kenya’s leading role in ‘One Health’ strategies controlling diseases transmitted between animals and people
A4NH / Agri-Health / AHH / Animal Health / Article / Bird flu / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / ILRI / Kenya / MERS / RVF / Uganda / Zoonotic Diseases

Kenya’s leading role in ‘One Health’ strategies controlling diseases transmitted between animals and people

‘Prof Eric Fèvre, a researcher of veterinary infectious diseases at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi told the Business Daily the close interaction between people and animals worsened the situation. Continue reading

An ‘urban zoo’ project in Kenya is helping unpack the spread of disease in urban environments
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

An ‘urban zoo’ project in Kenya is helping unpack the spread of disease in urban environments

Emerging infectious diseases are a major concern to the global public health community, both in terms of disease burden and economic burden. Understanding the processes that lead to their emergence is therefore a scientific research priority. Over the last five years Eric Fevre has been working with a group of researchers to understand what leads to the introduction of pathogens in urban environments and how those then emerge in the human population. Continue reading

African camels could hold a key to controlling the spread of the MERS virus
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Camels / CBPP / Diagnostics / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / MERS / Middle East / Zoonotic Diseases

African camels could hold a key to controlling the spread of the MERS virus

African camels could hold important clues to controlling the potential spread of a respiratory disease transmitted by the animals. For many years African camels have lived with the disease and the risk of it spreading to humans is still low. But more research is necessary to understand the disease better. This is even more important given the confirmation that the chains of transmission of the human Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection originated from contact with camels. Continue reading

Slum farming and superbugs—An ‘Urban Zoo’ science project tracks bacterial routes in complex environments
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

Slum farming and superbugs—An ‘Urban Zoo’ science project tracks bacterial routes in complex environments

The Urban Zoo project is visiting 99 households across Nairobi, rich and poor, with livestock and without. They’re taking samples from people, their animals, and whatever wildlife they can find nearby (and catch): storks, mice, bats, et cetera. They’re sampling the ground around homes, yards and livestock pens with white paper booties. ‘The aim, says University of Liverpool veterinarian Judy Bettridge, is “to try and understand on a small scale how those bacteria are shared” among each household’s people, livestock and environment. “And then when we scale it up, are the bacteria here being shared with the household that’s 50 meters over there? Or 100 meters over there? So, how far can they actually spread?” . . . Continue reading