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

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Genomics

Background:

• Global rabies vaccination in dogs aims to protect human health.
• Surveillance in endemic regions like sub-Saharan Africa is inconsistent due to fragmented reporting and limited diagnostics.
• Marginalized pastoral and agro-pastoral communities often lack adequate health system integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To strengthen rabies surveillance in central Kenya by integrating community-based reporting with field diagnostics.
• To assess the feasibility of a combined surveillance approach in marginalized communities.
• To identify circulating rabies variants and understand transmission patterns.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a 6-month pilot study in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in central Kenya.
• Implemented community-based surveillance for suspected rabid dog alerts.
• Performed field-based diagnostic testing on alert samples.
• Conducted whole genome sequencing on positive samples.

Main Results:

• 14 alerts of suspected rabid dogs were received; 8 were tested, and 5 were confirmed positive.
• Whole genome sequencing identified the circulating variant as Africa 1b subclade.
• The identified variant is similar to those found in eastern Kenya and Tanzania, suggesting regional transmission.

Conclusions:

• Rabies continues to circulate in the studied region of Kenya.
• Community-based surveillance combined with enhanced diagnostic testing can reduce underreporting.
• This integrated approach can effectively guide and improve rabies vaccination campaigns in resource-limited settings.