Welcome
Welcome to the Regional Conference on Zoonotic Diseases in Eastern Africa, 2015.
Foremost, on behalf of the Planning Committee of the Regional Conference on Zoonotic Diseases in
Eastern Africa 2015, may I extend a warm welcome to all delegates, to Naivasha. Karibu sana Kenya.
Kindly allow me to say a big thank you to all presenters and the general participating audience for
the patience you have exercised over the last one year, following the postponement of this
conference last May, due to unavoidable circumstances. It is gratifying to note that the challenges
that faced this process were overcome and a majority of those originally identified to present their
papers in this conference back in 2013, made it to the 2015 meeting. Thank you once again most
sincerely.
The Conference on Zoonotic Diseases in Eastern Africa is the first one of its kind in the region. The
objective of this conference is to bring to the fore, unpublished research work on zoonotic diseases
existing in university libraries and other research institutions in various forms and carried out in
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia. Furthermore, it
is the intention of the conference organizers to assist researchers from the region in bringing their
high quality research data on zoonoses into the public domain, through publication. This is also in
line with the theme of this conference “Taking Stock of Zoonotic Diseases Research in the Eastern
Africa Region”
In this conference, presentations will be made on a number of zoonotic diseases including viral
hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Dengue, Yellow Fever), avian influenza, brucellosis,
anthrax, rabies, leptospirosis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, bovine tuberculosis, plague,
trypanosomiasis, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, toxoplasmosis, cysticercosis, hydatidosis, among
others. These presentations will cover epidemiology and risk factors; antimicrobial resistance;
diagnosis, surveillance and outbreak investigations; disease modeling; emerging and re-emerging
zoonoses; food-borne zoonoses; systematic reviews and meta-analysis of zoonoses; vector-borne
and environment drivers of zoonoses; zoonotic disease burden / socio-economic impact of
zoonoses and zoonoses and biosafety and biosecurity. The conference is also privileged to have the
participation of a number of renowned and eminent scientists / scholars and researchers in their
own right from Europe, the Americas and Africa, who will deliver keynote and plenary addresses on
various topics. It is indeed a privilege to welcome you all to Naivasha, on the floor of Kenya's
section of the Great Rift Valley.
Zoonotic diseases are diverse, can be severe, and their transmission is very dynamic. Realization
that at least 61% of all human pathogens are zoonotic, and have represented 75% of all emerging
pathogens during the past decade or so, makes research on zoonotic diseases even more important.
But research findings can only be useful if they get to the public domain and act as catalysts for that
necessary change - by informing policy - for the betterment of society. This conference sets a stage
for bringing out research findings on zoonotic diseases in the region. We are aware that we do not
have uniform research capacities and capabilities in the Eastern Africa region. Researchers in
different countries in the region face different challenges and we all share in these, albeit to
different levels. We face challenges in funding of research projects, resource and capacity
deficiencies in our research institutions and even challenges in disseminating outputs emanating
from otherwise well conducted research. This forum provides our researchers with an opportunity
to share their experiences, the challenges they face and hopefully create opportunities for dealing
with some of these challenges. This conference provides a forum for creating networks amongst
researchers so that they may know of the kind of research being undertaken in which research
facility / institution, what opportunities exist for collaboration and how to overcome, for example,
research funding challenges. Let us not take it for granted that as we congregate in Naivasha Kenya for this conference, we know what research facilities and institutions exist in the region,
leave alone, the type of research that has been and continues to be carried out in the region and by
who. This conference gives all of us an opportunity to be on the knowledgeable side on some of
these matters.
This conference could not have been possible without material and moral support from the
Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU) of the Republic of Kenya, Biosecurity Engagement Programme (BEP)
and Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global) both of the United States of
America, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and, Global Implementation Solutions (GIS). All
of you presenters are here courtesy of this support. Join me in most sincerely, thanking all these
sponsors. I thank the keynote and other plenary speakers for taking time off their busy schedules to
grace this conference. We do not take your presence here for granted. Many thanks also go to the
men and women in the Regional Conference Planning Committee who spent many hours putting
together this Conference. You succeeded in this mission. Be proud of it. We got overwhelming
response from researchers when we sent out the call for abstracts and to those to made it to this
conference, congratulations. You earned this opportunity - make the best out of it. To all those
attending this conference, thank you for your support and may you all be blessed throughout and
beyond this conference.
Eddy Mogoa, PhD
Chairman - Regional Conference Planning Committee.