DTRA-NK: Emerging public health threats in Africa's drylands

Project overview

The DTRA-NK project will investigate the spread of vector-borne diseases in arid regions of northern Kenya and Nigeria. These include the Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), the Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), and the bacterium Francisella tularensis (Ft), which causes the Tularemia disease.

We aim to map the transmission dynamics of these pathogens in diverse ecosystems using geospatial technologies, field data and international collaboration.

At the project's core is a two-year field study that combines ecology, epidemiology, anthropology and data science to understand how nomadic pastoralists and their animals are exposed to these diseases.

Our research team will work closely with local communities in northern Kenya to understand environmental and household risk factors. We will also train community-based health professionals and enhance laboratory capacity in regional hospitals to detect and respond to diseases faster.

From this dataset, we seek to identify and communicate measures to reduce people's risk of exposure and develop modelling tools that allow public health officials to make accurate, real-time forecasts of disease threats.

Looking to the future, we will also work with the Kenyan Government to provide advanced training to epidemiologists and develop a formal surveillance and threat reduction strategy for emerging vector-borne diseases under different climate change scenarios.

Our aims

The DTRA-NK project’s activities are grouped around five key thematic areas.

Diagnostic capacity

New diagnostic assays for RVFV, CCHFV, and Ft will be developed and deployed in healthcare facilities. They will be optimized in the USA and tested in field settings in Kenya, ensuring their long-term utility for public health surveillance.

Training

We will provide advanced epidemiological modelling training for Kenyan government officials and academic opportunities for East African, USA, UK, and EU researchers. This training aims to build local capacity for detecting and responding to microbiological threats.

Household and environmental risk

We want to improve our understanding of the fundamental processes driving human and animal exposure to these pathogens. To achieve this, we will conduct detailed studies of 324 pastoralist families in northern Kenya, focusing on their interactions with animals and the environment.

Changing livestock demographics

Participatory survey methods will be used to investigate livestock trade flows, governance, and the economics of the livestock sector in Northern Kenya. It will generate new knowledge on livestock demographics and their impact on disease transmission.

Risk forecasting and policy

We will develop predictive tools for forecasting disease outbreaks under varying climate and demographic conditions. These models will be co-developed with national policymakers, allowing them to test and implement disease threat reduction measures.

Who is involved?

The project is led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Smithsonian Institute in collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control. It is funded by the US Department of Defense and includes contributions from local field teams.

PhD student Madi Hewitson is responsible for the long-term monitoring and modelling of key pathogen hotspots. A postdoctoral researcher will be recruited to specialise in geospatial data analysis and risk modelling.

Our methods

The DTRA-NK project employs a combination of fieldwork and advanced geospatial analysis to study disease transmission.

Field teams collect seasonal data on pathogen presence and vector populations, while drones and satellite imagery are used to create detailed environmental maps. This data is then combined to model how diseases spread across different landscapes and under varying environmental conditions.

Our role

The Museum’s role in the project will include:

• Mapping disease hotspots using drone and satellite imagery.
• Conducting pathogen surveys across Northern Kenya.
• Developing geospatial models to predict disease risk.
• Providing baseline data for ongoing disease monitoring.
• Contributing to policy decision-making tools for local health officials.

Timeframe

The DTRA-NK project is ongoing, with a postdoctoral researcher scheduled for recruitment by October.

The first annual project meeting will be held in Kenya. At this meeting, initial findings will be discussed, and future research directions will be established.