A participatory epidemiological and One Health approach to explore the community’s capacity to detect emerging zoonoses and surveillance network opportunities in the forest region of Guinea

Abstract

The Ebola virus disease epidemic that threatened West Africa between 2013 and 2016 was of unprecedented health magnitude. After this health crisis, studies highlighted the need to introduce community-based surveillance systems and to adopt a One Health approach. This study aimed to provide preparatory insights for the definition of a community-based surveillance system for emerging zoonoses such as viral hemorrhagic fevers in Guinea. The objective was to explore the disease detection capacity and the surveillance network opportunities at the community level in two pilot areas in the forest region of Guinea, where the epidemic emerged. Based on a participatory epidemiological and One Health approach, we conducted Focus Group Discussions with human, animal and ecosystem health actors. We used a range of participatory tools, included semi-structured interviews, ranking, scoring and flow diagram, to estimate the local knowledge and perception of diseases and clinical signs and to investigate the existing health information exchange network and its related strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that there is heterogeneity in knowledge of diseases and perception of the clinical signs among actors and that there are preferred and more effective health communication channels opportunities. This preparatory study suggests that it is necessary to adapt the case definitions and the health communication channels to the different actors who can play a role in a future community-based surveillance system and provides recommendations for future surveillance activities to be carried out in West Africa.

Participatory Disease Surveillance for the Early Detection of Cholera-Like Diarrheal Disease Outbreaks in Rural Villages in Malawi: Prospective Cohort Study

“…This approach involves the active participation of community members, health workers, and other stakeholders in the surveillance process, including reporting and monitoring of disease incidence, symptoms, and behaviors. PS has demonstrated applicability in different scenarios and diseases, such as influenza, cholera, Covid-19, Zika and others [21,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

An experimental game to assess hunter’s participation in zoonotic diseases surveillance

“…In this regard, community-based surveillance systems have attracted a lot of interest [ 17 , 22 , 24 – 28 ]. These systems rely on the clinical observations made by local communities and their knowledge of diseases affecting animal populations for the early detection of pathogens’ spillovers towards human population and for engaging rapid control measures [ 22 , 26 , 29 ]. A community-based zoonosis surveillance system relies on the observation of a set of symptoms, in animals or in humans, that correspond to the definition of a suspect case of zoonosis.…”

“…Several studies showed that the risk of disease transmission from wild animals to humans is unequally perceived by local communities [ 25 , 26 ]. It was evaluated in surveys conducted in Sub-Saharan African countries targeting hunters, butchers, sellers and consumers [ 30 – 32 ], with significantly different results: 24% of the respondents were aware of zoonotic risks in a survey conducted in Sierra Leone [ 32 ]; 55% in Nigeria [ 33 ]; and 74% in southern Cameroon [ 31 ].…”

“…One study by Guenin et al . [ 26 ] conducted in Guinea identified possible communication channels and clinical observations relevant to local communities living in proximity to wildlife. However, the willingness of wild meat value chain actors to participate in zoonoses surveillance has not been formally assessed yet.…”

Partipatory disease surveilance in Fentale & Adama Districts of East Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State

“…Diseases of small ruminants are one of the common problems that hinder production. 2 One is Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), or small ruminant plague, is a viral disease primarily affecting goats and sheep. A Peste des petits ruminant (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease that mainly affects sheep and goats.…”