Project Number: 5410-32000-015-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 01, 2007
End Date: Jan 31, 2012

Objective:
The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the LAMP test for RVF and to expand our knowledge about Rift Valley fever (RVF) epidemiology in Kenya by expanding the ongoing Kenya veterinary surveillance program to include wildlife species.

Approach:
The ongoing veterinary surveillance will be expanded by the inclusion of wildlife sero-surveillance in Kenya. The project will also evaluate the newly developed RVF LAMP diagnostic test developed by mutual FAO/IAEA collaborators. KARI will archive veterinary surveillance samples collected and assayed using existing diagnostic technology as part of their ongoing projects. The ABADRL has collected and stored serum and tissue samples from wild rodents in Kenya at the end of the 2006-2007 RVF outbreak. This was accomplished through a collaboration with USDA, APHIS, National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), US Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya (USAMRU-K) and Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The ABADRL scientists will work with KARI scientists in Kenyan facilities to gain experience with existing diagnostics, perform the analysis of the wild rodent samples using current assays, and assist in the evaluation of the LAMP diagnostic test. The ABADRL, KARI and mutually agreed upon collaborating scientists with the assistance of the USDA, APHIS, Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH) will consolidate the information generated in this project with the existing data to initiate the development of a comprehensive epidemiological understanding of RVF in Kenya.