Accelerating Progress Towards the 2030 Neglected Tropical Diseases Targets: How Can Quantitative Modeling Support Programmatic Decisions?

Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the control, elimination, and eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Despite these advances, most NTD programs have recently experienced important setbacks; for example, NTD interventions were some of the most frequently and severely impacted by service disruptions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mathematical modeling can help inform selection of interventions to meet the targets set out in the NTD road map 2021-2030, and such studies should prioritize questions that are relevant for decision-makers, especially those designing, implementing, and evaluating national and subnational programs.

Modelling seasonal household variation in harvested rainwater availability: a case study in Siaya County, Kenya.

Rainwater harvesting reliability, the proportion of days annually when rainwater demand is fully met, is challenging to estimate from cross-sectional household surveys that underpin international monitoring. This study investigated the use of a modelling approach that integrates household surveys with gridded precipitation data to evaluate rainwater harvesting reliability, using two local-scale household surveys in rural Siaya County, Kenya as an illustrative case study. We interviewed 234 households, administering a standard questionnaire that also identified the source of household stored drinking water.

A spatiotemporal analysis of cattle herd movement in relation to drinking-water sources: implications for Cryptosporidium control in rural Kenya.

Given the increasing evidence that domestic contact with livestock is a risk factor for child diarrhoea in low- and middle-income countries, there have been calls for greater quantification of human-livestock contact in such countries. This study aimed to quantify seasonality in cattle proximity to domestic water sources and household compounds and develop a preliminary landscape model of faecal deposition by cattle. A total of 120 cattle in smallholder herds in the Asembo area of Siaya County, Kenya, were tracked over 1 week in April 2018 to July 2018 and November 2018 to February 2019 using GPS tracking devices.

A longitudinal study of the association between domestic contact with livestock and contamination of household point-of-use stored drinking water in rural Siaya County (Kenya).

Background: Emerging evidence suggests close domestic proximity of livestock and humans may lead to microbiological contamination of hands, objects, food and water supplies within domestic environments, adversely impacting public health. However, evidence quantifying the relationship between livestock, domestic animals, humans and microbiological contamination of household stored water remains limited.

Aim: This longitudinal study aimed to examine the relationship between domestic contact with livestock and domestic animals on microbiological contamination of household Point-of-Use (POU) stored drinking water in rural Kenya and assess the influence of choice of faecal indicator on such associations.

An outbreak of cholera in western Kenya, 2015: a case control study.

Introduction: in February 2015, an outbreak of acute watery diarrhea was reported in two sub counties in western Kenya. e 01 serotype Ogawa was isolated from 26 cases and from water samples collected from a river mainly used by residents of the two sub-counties for domestic purposes. We carried out an investigation to determine factors associated with the outbreak.