Ethnic groups’ knowledge, attitude and practices and Rift Valley fever exposure in Isiolo County of Kenya

A study on the Maasai, Borana and Turkana who were affected during the RVF outbreak of 2006/2007

Abstract

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an emerging mosquito-borne viral haemorrhagic fever in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, affecting humans and livestock: Because behaviour is crucial to improving prevention and control efforts for infectious diseases such as RVF, a study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of 3 different ethnic communities in Isiolo county, Kenya—The Maasai, Borana and Turkana—who were affected during the RVF outbreak of 2006/2007, was undertaken.

The article recommends that strategies to combat RVF should take into consideration the behavioural differences among communities.

This is an output from the ‘Prediction and Preparedness against Outbreaks with Devastating Economic Impact’ project. It was partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, a core donor of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.

Citation

Affognon H., Mburu P., Hassan O.A., Kingori S., Ahlm C., Sang R. and Evander M. (2017) Ethnic groups’ knowledge, attitude and practices and Rift Valley fever exposure in Isiolo County of Kenya. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11(3), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005405

Ethnic groups’ knowledge, attitude and practices and Rift Valley fever exposure in Isiolo County of Kenya

Published 31 March 2017