The pandemic coincides with the long rainy season in Kenya. Rain increases mosquito breeding sites, vector density and thus transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.
U.S. officials risk public health by equating COVID-19 with places far from home.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
While identifying a new disease by its place of origin seems intuitive, history shows that doing so can have serious consequences for the people that live there.
Mosquito eggs can remain viable for years even in dry conditions and hatch after heavy persistent rains.
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Prolonged rains increase the amount of stagnant water in the environment in which mosquitoes breed. This increases the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
Soon, this farmer and her goats could be treated with the same vaccine.
ILRI, Zerihun Sewunet/flickr
Rift Valley Fever infects millions of humans and livestock in Africa and Arabia. To fight it, scientists are developing a first of its kind vaccine that can be used on humans and animals.
Rift Valley fever is a disease passed from mosquitoes to animals then to people.
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As rain continues to fall in Kenya, national and county governments must put measures in place to prevent a Rift Valley fever outbreak.
Tackling local diseases like rabies could help health authorities identify new outbreaks more easily.
N. Bastiaensen/World Organisation for Animal Health
By tackling local threats and controlling existing diseases, countries are able to build the capacity needed to deal with future emerging disease threats.
A tea picker walks through a tea plantation damaged by frost near Kericho, the Kenyan highland town hit hard by changing weather patterns.
Reuters