On Thursday 7th September 2021, a Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) volunteer trained in epidemic preparedness and early response alerted the Community Health Assistant (CHA) to an unusual health event in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The person in question had a distended abdomen and fever. Subsequently, 15 alerts were raised through community-based surveillance (CBS), samples were collected from the 15 individuals and tested using a rK39 Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). 11 tested positive for Leishmaniasis. A response plan was developed to accelerate case finding in the area in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), through the Neglected Tropical Diseases Unit.
In collaboration with the MoH and MSF, KRCS used multiple data sources to assess risk factors for Leishmaniasis and to explore challenges and opportunity to engage a community-driven response.
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The aim of the IOA Field Exchange is to share Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) in initiatives and experiences from across the world, at different levels, to facilitate dialogue between and learning opportunities for individuals and organizations working in IOA. A link to additional IOA Field Exchange volumes is available here.