Experience in fostering regional collaboration and Coordination to use data for battling infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Unlabelled: The emergence of COVID-19 highlights globalisation realties, where diseases may emerge from anywhere and rapidly spread globally. Lessons emphasise the necessity for strengthening regional and global collaboration and coordination to allow rapid risk identification, resource mobilisation and joint actions. We report the experience of the Regional Action through Data (RAD) partnership in fostering regional cooperation and collaboration to use data for battling infectious diseases and the effects of COVID-19.

Identification and characterization of influenza A viruses in selected domestic animals in Kenya, 2010-2012.

Background: Influenza A virus subtypes in non-human hosts have not been characterized in Kenya. We carried out influenza surveillance in selected domestic animals and compared the virus isolates with isolates obtained in humans during the same period.

Methods: We collected nasal swabs from pigs, dogs and cats; oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs from poultry; and blood samples from all animals between 2010 and 2012.

Which influenza vaccine formulation should be used in Kenya? A comparison of influenza isolates from Kenya to vaccine strains, 2007-2013.

Introduction: Every year the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends which influenza virus strains should be included in a northern hemisphere (NH) and a southern hemisphere (SH) influenza vaccine. To determine the best vaccine formulation for Kenya, we compared influenza viruses collected in Kenya from April 2007 to May 2013 to WHO vaccine strains.

Methods: We collected nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal (NP/OP) specimens from patients with respiratory illness, tested them for influenza, isolated influenza viruses from a proportion of positive specimens, tested the isolates for antigenic relatedness to vaccine strains, and determined the percentage match between circulating viruses and SH or NH influenza vaccine composition and schedule.

The Role of HIV in the Household Introduction and Transmission of Influenza in an Urban Slum, Nairobi, Kenya, 2008-2011.

Background: Little is known about how human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection affects influenza transmission within homes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: We used respiratory illness surveillance and HIV testing data gathered in Kibera, an urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya, to examine the impact of HIV status on (1) introducing influenza to the home and (2) transmitting influenza to household contacts.

Results: While HIV status did not affect the likelihood of being an influenza index case, household contacts of HIV-infected influenza index cases had twice the risk of developing secondary influenza-like illness than contacts of HIV-negative index cases.

A comparison of smartphones to paper-based questionnaires for routine influenza sentinel surveillance, Kenya, 2011-2012.

Background: For disease surveillance, manual data collection using paper-based questionnaires can be time consuming and prone to errors. We introduced smartphone data collection to replace paper-based data collection for an influenza sentinel surveillance system in four hospitals in Kenya. We compared the quality, cost and timeliness of data collection between the smartphone data collection system and the paper-based system.

Uptake and effectiveness of monovalent influenza A (H1N1) pandemic 2009 vaccine among healthcare personnel in Kenya, 2010.

Introduction: During April-June 2010, the Kenya Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation distributed free monovalent influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccines to health care personnel (HCP) and other vulnerable groups. We conducted a prospective, cohort study among HCP to characterize influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine uptake, and to assess influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine effectiveness.

Methods: We enrolled HCP from 5 hospitals and followed them for 6 months.

Assessing parents' knowledge and attitudes towards seasonal influenza vaccination of children before and after a seasonal influenza vaccination effectiveness study in low-income urban and rural Kenya, 2010-2011.

Background: Influenza vaccine is rarely used in Kenya, and little is known about attitudes towards the vaccine. From June-September 2010, free seasonal influenza vaccine was offered to children between 6 months and 10 years old in two Population-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance (PBIDS) sites. This survey assessed attitudes about influenza, uptake of the vaccine and experiences with childhood influenza vaccination.

Detection of influenza A virus in live bird markets in Kenya, 2009-2011.

Background: Surveillance for influenza viruses within live bird markets (LBMs) has been recognized as an effective tool for detecting circulating avian influenza viruses (AIVs). In Sub-Saharan Africa, limited data exist on AIVs in animal hosts, and in Kenya the presence of influenza virus in animal hosts has not been described.

Objectives: This surveillance project aimed to detect influenza A virus in poultry traded in five LBMs in Kenya.