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Spatio-temporal epidemiology of livestock diseases in the variable semi-arid rangelands of northern Kenya

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Abstract

Diseases affecting livestock can have significant impacts on the animal, humans and the economy. Participatory epidemiology and spatial analysis were conducted to assess livestock disease problems in Samburu County, northern Kenya. Key informants were selected purposively with the help of local leaders. Among the livestock, goats were identified to have the most economic importance. On the other hand Pestes des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Camel Trypanosomiasis diseases were identified to have the highest impact on pastoral livelihood. Spatial analysis indicated that all the disease hotspots were closely related to the distribution of herds during different seasons of the year. Correlations between the mean annual rainfall and selected livestock diseases were significant for East Coast Fever (ECF) (r =  − 0.767, p = 0.001, N = 15), Cattle Helminthiasis (r = 0.639, p = 0.010, N = 15), Cattle Anaplasmosis (r = 0.631, p = 0.012, N = 15) and Camel Pox (r =  − 0.646, p = 0.044, N = 10). There was a strong relationship between seasonality and livestock disease epidemiology. Disease control efforts should be focused towards the hotspots in the wet season and dry season grazing areas.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study and used in the production of this article are available from the corresponding author and can be availed upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We take this opportunity to thank all those persons and institutions who participated or supported this research in one way or the other. Our gratitude and appreciation to the research assistants who took part in this research. We are very grateful to the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Samburu County who also provided valuable information that enriched this research.

Funding

This research was funded by the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Department for Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Nairobi City, Kenya

    Geoffrey Lenyayon Lelenguyah

  2. Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi City, Kenya

    Geoffrey Lenyayon Lelenguyah, Moses Moywaywa Nyangito & Oliver Vivian Wasonga

  3. Department of Animal Production, University of Nairobi, Nairobi City, Kenya

    Rawlynce Cheruiyot Bett

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  1. Geoffrey Lenyayon Lelenguyah
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  4. Rawlynce Cheruiyot Bett
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception, design and data collection instruments preparation. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by GLL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by GLL, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffrey Lenyayon Lelenguyah.

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Ethical approval

This research was licensed by the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation in Kenya under license number NACOSTI/P/22/15712. Additionally, written informed consent for participation was obtained from all participants before discussions began.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Lelenguyah, G.L., Nyangito, M.M., Wasonga, O.V. et al. Spatio-temporal epidemiology of livestock diseases in the variable semi-arid rangelands of northern Kenya. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 272 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03684-3

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