{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T08:14:24Z","timestamp":1785572064416,"version":"3.56.0"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]],"date-time":"2021-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1614816000000}}],"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]],"date-time":"2021-02-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1613952000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000193","name":"International Development Research Centre","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["105509-038."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["105509-038."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000193","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease whose outbreak results in heavy economic and public health burdens. In East Africa, RVF is mainly experienced in arid and semi-arid areas predominantly inhabited by the pastoralists. These areas experience sudden, dramatic epidemics of the disease at intervals of approximately 10 years, associated with widespread flooding and the resultant swarms of mosquitoes. Pastoralists\u2019 indigenous knowledge and experience of RVF is critical for public health interventions targeting prevention and control of RVF.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p>The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design combining both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. A total of 204 respondents participated in questionnaire survey and 15 key informants and 4 focus group discussions were interviewed and conducted respectively. In addition, secondary data mainly journal publications, books, policy documents and research reports from conferences and government departments were reviewed. Findings indicated that the Somali pastoralists possess immense knowledge of RVF including signs and symptoms, risk factors, and risk pathways associated with RVF. Ninety eight percent (98%) of respondents identified signs and symptoms such as bloody nose, diarrhea, foul smell and discharge of blood from the orifices which are consistent with RVF. Heavy rains and floods (85%) and sudden emergence of mosquito swarms (91%) were also cited as the major RVF risk factors while mosquito bites (85%), drinking raw milk and blood (78%) and contact with animal fluids during mobility, slaughter and obstetric procedures (77%) were mentioned as the RVF entry risk pathways. Despite this immense knowledge, the study found that the pastoralists did not translate the knowledge into safer health practices because of the deep-seated socio-cultural practices associated with pastoralist production system and religious beliefs. On top of these practices, food preparation and consumption practices such as drinking raw blood and milk and animal ritual sacrifices continue to account for most of the mortality and morbidity cases experienced in humans and animals during RVF outbreaks.<\/jats:p>\n<jats:p>This article concludes that pastoralists\u2019 indigenous knowledge on RVF has implications on public health delivery approaches. Since the pastoralists\u2019 knowledge on RVF was definitive, integrating the community into early warning systems through training on reporting mechanisms and empowering the nomads to use their mobile phone devices to report observable changes in their livestock and environment could prove very effective in providing information for timely mobilization of public health responses. Public health advocacy based on targeted and contextually appropriate health messaging and disseminated through popular communication channels in the community such as the religious leaders and local radio stations would also be needed to reverse the drivers of RVF occurrence in the study area.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]],"date-time":"2021-02-22T18:37:24Z","timestamp":1614019044000},"page":"e0009166","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Indigenous knowledge of Rift Valley Fever among Somali nomadic pastoralists and its implications on public health delivery approaches in Ijara sub-County, North Eastern Kenya"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5465-1883","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Geoffrey Otieno","family":"Muga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2723-7900","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Washington","family":"Onyango-Ouma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rosemary","family":"Sang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hippolyte","family":"Affognon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]]},"reference":[{"issue":"Supplement 2","key":"pntd.0009166.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.2010.09-0290","article-title":"Epidemiological assessment of the Rift Valley Fever Outbreak in Kenya and Tanzania in 2006\u20132008","volume":"83","author":"C. C. Jost","year":"2010","journal-title":"American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref002","unstructured":"World Health Organization. Hemorrhagic Fever Task Force. Rift Valley fever outbreaks in East Africa. Presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Atlanta;1998 March 8\u201312."},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2805","DOI":"10.1128\/JVI.02095-06","article-title":"Complete genome analysis of 33 ecologically and biologically diverse Rift Valley Fever virus strains reveals widespread movement and low genetic diversity due to recent common ancestry","volume":"81","author":"B. H. Bird","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Virology"},{"issue":"8","key":"pntd.0009166.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1240","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1408.080082","article-title":"Inter-epidemic Rift Valley Fever virus sero-positivity, North Eastern Kenya","volume":"14","author":"A. D LaBeaud","year":"2008","journal-title":"Emerging Infectious Diseases"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1126\/science.285.5426.397","article-title":"Climate and Satellite Indicators to Forecast Rift Valley Fever Epidemics in Kenya","volume":"285","author":"K. J. Linthicum","year":"1999","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref006","first-page":"73","article-title":"Rift Valley Fever Outbreak in Kenya. November\u2013January 2007","volume":"56","author":"CDC","year":"2007","journal-title":"Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report"},{"issue":"2","key":"pntd.0009166.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.3201\/eid0802.010023","article-title":"An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in North Eastern Kenya, 1997\/1998","volume":"8","author":"C.W Woods","year":"2002","journal-title":"Emerging Infectious Diseases"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref008","volume-title":"Technical Report of the TDR Disease Reference Group on Zoonoses and Marginalized Infectious Diseases of Poverty","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2012"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0009166.ref009","first-page":"137","article-title":"Risks of Rift Valley Fever epidemic at the Haj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia","volume":"25","author":"F. G Davies","year":"2006","journal-title":"Revenue Scientifique et technique de I\u2019 Office International des Epizootic"},{"issue":"I-II","key":"pntd.0009166.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"246","DOI":"10.1080\/00141844.1987.9981344","article-title":"Women in pastoral production: Some theoretical notes on roles and resources","volume":"52","author":"S. Dahl","year":"1987","journal-title":"Ethnos"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0009166.ref011","first-page":"1","article-title":"Response to Rift Valley Fever in Tanzania: Challenges and Opportunities","volume":"13","author":"R. D. Fyumagwa","year":"2011","journal-title":"Tanzania Journal of Health Research"},{"issue":"4","key":"pntd.0009166.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"730","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.14-0363","article-title":"Socio-cultural and economic dimensions of Rift Valley Fever","volume":"92","author":"O. G. Muga","year":"2015","journal-title":"American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref013","volume-title":"Releasing our full potential: Draft sessional paper on national policy for the sustainable development of Northern Kenya and other arid lands","author":"Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands (MDNKOAL)","year":"2010"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref014","unstructured":"Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Population and Housing Census Reports. 2010; http:\/\/www.knbs.or.ke. Accessed April 2017."},{"issue":"3","key":"pntd.0009166.ref015","first-page":"3772","article-title":"Rift Valley Fever in Kenya. History of Epizootics and Identification of Vulnerable Districts","volume":"139","author":"R. M. Murithi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref016","article-title":"Perceived risk factors and risk pathways of Rift Valley Fever in cattle in Ijara district, Kenya","author":"N. O. Owange","year":"2014","journal-title":"Original Research"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref017","article-title":"Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on Rift Valley Fever among Pastoralist Communities of Ijara District, N.E. Kenya","author":"I. H. Abdi","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases"},{"issue":"2","key":"pntd.0009166.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.2010.09-0293","article-title":"Risk factors for severe RVF infection in Kenya, 2007","volume":"83","author":"A. S. Anyangu","year":"2010","journal-title":"American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.2217\/17460794.3.5.411","article-title":"Lessons from the 2006\u20132007 Rift Valley Fever Outbreaks in East Africa: Implications for Prevention of Emerging Infectious Diseases","volume":"3","author":"R.F. Breiman","year":"2008","journal-title":"Future Virology"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-016-2707-8","article-title":"Lay perceptions of risk factors for Rift Valley Fever in a Pastoral community in Northeastern Kenya","volume":"16","author":"C. Ng\u2019anga","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biomed Central Public Health"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1525\/9780520340848","volume-title":"Patients and healers in the context of culture","author":"A. Kleinman","year":"1980"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref022","first-page":"135","volume-title":"Equity, Social Determinants and Public Health Programmes","author":"J Aagaard-Hansen","year":"2010"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"695","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-3156.1999.00473.x","article-title":"Where health has no access: the nomadic populations of sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"4","author":"A Sheikh-Mohammed","year":"1999","journal-title":"Tropical Medicine International Health"},{"key":"pntd.0009166.ref024","unstructured":"Jokes, S. and J. Pointing. Women in Pastoral Societies in East and West Africa. IIED Dry lands Network Programme Paper No. 28, International Institute for Environment and Development, London; 1991."}],"updated-by":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]],"date-time":"2021-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1614816000000}}],"container-title":["PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]],"date-time":"2021-03-04T19:13:39Z","timestamp":1614885219000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Benjamin Muir","family":"Althouse","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","relation":{"new_version":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009166","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["1935-2735"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1935-2735","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,22]]}}}