Abstract:
Camels are increasingly becoming the livestock of choice for pastoralists reeling from
effects of climate change in semi-arid and arid parts of Kenya. As the population of camels
rises, better understanding of their role in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases in Kenya is
a public health priority. Rift Valley fever (RVF), brucellosis and Q fever are three of the top
priority diseases in the country but the involvement of camels in the transmission dynamics
of these diseases is poorly understood. We analyzed 120 camel serum samples from northern
Kenya to establish seropositivity rates of the three pathogens and to characterize the
infecting Brucella species using molecular assays. We found seropositivity of 24.2% (95%
confidence interval [CI]: 16.5–31.8%) for Brucella, 20.8% (95% CI: 13.6–28.1%) and 14.2%
(95% CI: 7.9–20.4%) for Coxiella burnetii and Rift valley fever virus respectively. We found
27.5% (95% CI: 19.5–35.5%) of the animals were seropositive for at least one pathogen and
13.3% (95% CI: 7.2–19.4%) were seropositive for at least two pathogens. B. melitensis was
the only Brucella spp. detected. The high sero-positivity rates are indicative of the endemicity
of these pathogens among camel populations and the possible role the species has in
the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases. Considering the strong association between human
infection and contact with livestock for most zoonotic infections in Kenya, there is immediate
need to conduct further research to determine the role of camels in transmission of these
zoonoses to other livestock species and humans. This information will be useful for designing
more effective surveillance systems and intervention measures
