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. 2018 Nov 3;18(1):545.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-018-3443-8.

Zoonotic disease research in East Africa

Naomi Kemunto  1   2 , Eddy Mogoa  3 , Eric Osoro  1   2 , Austin Bitek  4 , M Kariuki Njenga  1   2   5 , S M Thumbi  6   7   8
Affiliations

Zoonotic disease research in East Africa

Naomi Kemunto et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The East African region is endemic with multiple zoonotic diseases and is one of the hotspots for emerging infectious zoonotic diseases with reported multiple outbreaks of epidemic diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and Rift Valley Fever. Here we present a systematic assessment of published research on zoonotic diseases in the region and thesis research in Kenya to understand the regional research focus and trends in publications, and estimate proportion of theses research transitioning to peer-reviewed journal publications.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar and African Journals Online databases for publications on 36 zoonotic diseases identified to have occurred in the East Africa countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, for the period between 1920 and 2017. We searched libraries and queried online repositories for masters and PhD theses on these diseases produced between 1970 and 2016 in five universities and two research institutions in Kenya.

Results: We identified 771 journal articles on 22, and 168 theses on 21 of the 36 zoonotic diseases investigated. Research on zoonotic diseases increased exponentially with the last 10 years of our study period contributing more than half of all publications 460 (60%) and theses 102 (61%) retrieved. Endemic diseases were the most studied accounting for 656 (85%) and 150 (89%) of the publication and theses studies respectively, with publications on epidemic diseases associated with outbreaks reported in the region or elsewhere. Epidemiological studies were the most common study types but limited to cross-sectional studies while socio-economics were the least studied. Only 11% of the theses research transitioned to peer-review publications, taking an average of 2.5 years from theses production to manuscript publication.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate increased attention to zoonotic diseases in East Africa but reveal the need to expand the scope, focus and quality of studies to adequately address the public health, social and economic threats posed by zoonoses.

Keywords: East Africa; Endemic; Epidemic; Research; Zoonoses.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram summarizing the selection process of publications included in the review
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Diagram showing the annual publications on zoonotic diseases in East Africa region by study type
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Diagram showing proportion of publications on the 22 zoonotic diseases in East Africa by country
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Diagram showing number of publications for specific zoonotic diseases over time
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Diagram showing the number of theses on zoonotic diseases and the study type produced by the five main Kenyan Universities between 1970 and 2017
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Figure showing the number of theses produced for each of the 21 zoonotic diseases studied in Kenya, and the number of theses research published in peer-reviewed journals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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