Targeting East Coast fever control strategies based on the assessment of biological risk

Abstract

This paper studies East Coast fever (Theileria parva infection) risk in four district smallholder-farming areas of Kenya representing a range of epidemiological states of the disease. The areas include Kakamega, where indigenous cattle are intensively grazed with minimal tick control under moderate to high tick challenge; Uasin Gishu, where only primarely exotic cattle are extensively grazed under moderate challenge; Makuyu, where a mix of indigenous and cross-bred cattle are intensively grazed under moderate challenges; and Kiambu, where exotic cattle are kept almost exclusively under zero grazing with low challenge.