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. 2014 Sep 29:19:106.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2014.19.106.4588. eCollection 2014.

Establishing a One Health office in Kenya

Murithi Mbabu  1 , Ian Njeru  2 , Sarah File  3 , Eric Osoro  4 , Stella Kiambi  4 , Austine Bitek  4 , Peter Ithondeka  1 , Salome Kairu-Wanyoike  1 , Shanaaz Sharif  2 , Eric Gogstad  5 , Francis Gakuya  6 , Kaitlin Sandhaus  7 , Peninah Munyua  8 , Joel Montgomery  9 , Robert Breiman  10 , Carol Rubin  3 , Kariuki Njenga  8
Affiliations

Establishing a One Health office in Kenya

Murithi Mbabu et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

A One Health (OH) approach that integrates human,animal and environmental approaches to management of zoonotic diseases has gained momentum in the last decadeas part of a strategy to prevent and control emerging infectious diseases. However, there are few examples of howan OH approach can be established in a country. Kenya establishment of an OH office, referred to asthe Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU) in 2011. The ZDU bridges theanimal and human health sectors with a senior epidemiologist deployed from each ministry; and agoal of maintaining collaboration at the animal and human health interface towards better prevention and control of zoonoses. The country is adding an ecologist to the ZDU to ensure that environmental risks are adequately addressed in emerging disease control.

Keywords: One Health (OH); animal health; human health; zoonoses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Organizational chart showing the relationship between ZDU and parent Ministries in Kenya. The ZDU medical epidemiologist reports to the head of the Division of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control (DCDPC) in the Ministry of Health (MOH) whereas the veterinary epidemiologist reports to the head of the Veterinary Epidemiologyand Economics Unit (VEEU) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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