Surveillance of Zoonoses in livestock and humans: a note from the post-doc

After many months of careful planning and preparation, the main ZooLinK surveillance project has set sail! We have been sampling in the twelve selected live-stock markets, four each in the counties of Busia, Bungoma and Kakamega. At each market, we are collecting data on, and biological samples from, up to ten randomly selected cattle and small ruminants. Sampling in livestock markets can be challenging as traders are busy people who want to sell their animals. Moreover, some shared with us the perception that having their animal sampled may send the wrong message to future buyers. We are reminded once again of the importance of engaging local stakeholders at an early stage to help explain the study purpose and facilitate study participation.

We then expanded our sampling by including cattle, small ruminants and pigs that are taken for slaughter at selected slaughterhouses and slaughter slabs in the surroundings of the included livestock markets. Concurrently, we are also sampling outpatients at the three County referral hospitals and other selected health centres in the study area. All collected biological samples are processed and tested for fifteen selected zoonotic diseases at our field lab in Busia. Some of the animal samples shall also be used for genetic studies to identify changes in breeds as farming systems intensify over time.

We are all looking forward to working and learning together during our ZooLinK journey!

This article was authored by Dr Laura Falzon who is the Post-doctoral scientist (surveillance component) in the ZooLinK suite of projects.