Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
The 2006-2007 Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya: sources of early warning messages and response measures implemented by the Department of Veterinary Services.
- Journal:
- Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics)
- Year:
- 2012
- Authors:
- Gachohi, J M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
Plain-English summary
During the 2006-2007 Rift Valley fever outbreak in Kenya, researchers looked into how early warnings were communicated and how the Department of Veterinary Services responded to the situation. They gathered information from veterinary officers across different levels of government between November 2009 and March 2010. While many officers felt they didn't have enough resources to effectively manage the outbreak, they believed that the measures taken, like vaccinating animals, controlling movement, and closing markets, were somewhat helpful. Unfortunately, the vaccination efforts started too late and didn't reach enough animals to make a significant impact. The study suggests improvements for better handling of future outbreaks.
Abstract
The authors characterised sources of early warning messages about occurrences of Rift Valley fever (RVF) and examined the response measures that were used by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) to manage the 2006-2007 RVF outbreaks in Kenya. The study was conducted between November 2009 and March 2010 and it included national, provincial and district veterinary officers who were involved in the management of the outbreak. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. Although the majority of the respondents reported having limited capacity to implement response measures, they perceived that the measures implemented were effective. Vaccination, movement control and market closures were the main response measures implemented, particularly in districts that had cases in both livestock and humans. Vaccination, however, was implemented too late and the coverage achieved was too low to be effective. The authors suggest ways to improve the capacity of the DVS to respond to similar outbreaks in the future.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23520741/