Abstract
Kenya is home to Africa’s third largest population of dromedary camels, and production at commercial and local levels are increasingly important. In pastoral and nomadic communities in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), camels play a vital role in food security, while commercial milk production and formalized export markets are rapidly emerging as camel populations expand into non-traditional areas. Until recently, little focus was placed on camels as hosts of zoonotic disease, but the emergence of Middle Eastern respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, and the discovery of exposure to the virus in Kenyan camels, highlighted the need for further understanding of this area. This systematised review utilised a robust search strategy to assess the occurrence of camel-associated zoonoses in Kenya and to evaluate the quality of the published literature. Seventy-four studies were identified, covering sixteen pathogens, with an increasing number of good quality studies in recent years. Despite this, the area remains under-researched and there is a lack of robust, high-quality research. Trypanosome spp., Echinococcus granulosus and Brucella spp. appeared most frequently in the literature. Pathogens with the highest reported prevalence were MERS-CoV (0–100%), Echinococcus granulosa (7–60%) and Rift Valley fever virus (7–57%). Exposure to Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus showed higher levels in camel or camel-associated vectors than other livestock species, although brucellosis was the only disease for which there was robust evidence linking camel and human exposure. Zoonotic agents with less severe human health outcomes, such as Dermatophilosus congolensis and contagious ecthyma, were also represented in the literature. This review provides an important summary of the scope and quality of current knowledge. It demonstrates that further research, and improved adherence to robust study design and reporting are essential if the zoonotic risk from camels in Kenya, and elsewhere, is to be better understood.
Highlights
Kenya is home to Africa’s third largest population of one-humped, dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) and they account for approximately 5% of the country’s livestock [1].Camel production has long played a vital role in nomadic and pastoral communities, but formalised production, aimed primarily at lucrative urban milk markets, as well as a thriving international export market, are increasingly important [2,3,4,5]
The papers identified in this review show strong evidence of high MERS-CoV seroprevalence in camels in northern and north-eastern Kenya and Laikipia County as far back as 1983, suggesting the virus is endemic in the national herd [34,127]
Echinococcus granulosa s.l., has been undertaken in Kenya, and studies in this review demonstrate the presence of E. granulosa s.l. and E. canadensis in camel populations in Turkana, Meru and Isiolo counties
Summary
Kenya is home to Africa’s third largest population of one-humped, dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) and they account for approximately 5% of the country’s livestock [1]. Camel production has long played a vital role in nomadic and pastoral communities, but formalised production, aimed primarily at lucrative urban milk markets, as well as a thriving international export market, are increasingly important [2,3,4,5]. Camels are unique amongst livestock species in their ability to thrive in arid environments, providing an important source of food and financial security to vulnerable communities, in the face of climate instability [6,7,8]. Sci. 2020, 7, 103 northern and north-eastern regions, but as interest in camel production and awareness of their value in food security has developed, populations have expanded into non-traditional areas such as Isiolo and Laikipia; a move supported by the Kenyan government’s ‘2030 vision’ [7,9,10]
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