Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an arthropod-borne viral disease caused by a Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) of the family Bunyaviridae and genus Phlebovirus. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an acute, mosquito-borne viral disease that has a significant global threat to humans and livestock.  It is an emerging pathogen, whose range has recently expanded from east Africa, across sub-Saharan Africa to north Africa, and to the Arabian Peninsula.

The importance of the disease lies in its public health impact and the economic losses resulting from the cessation of trade in livestock and livestock related products. Relatively, little is known about the natural history of RVFV transmission and infection because natural outbreaks are sporadic and occur in an interval of 5 to 15 years.

Interepidemic RVFV transmission to humans was previously reported in Kenya but however the natural reservoir for RVFV and the mechanism by which humans become infected during IEP are unknown.   In order to address the above gaps, studies that will lead to better understanding of the transmission, ecology, and epidemiology of RVFV during IEP will be conducted.   The data generated from these studies will be used to refine the predictive algorithms for RVFV transmission based on ecological risk factors, epidemiological and remote sensing data.  This will lead to improved early detection of RVFV and consequently allow veterinary/health planners to put in place early reaction programmes so that disease epidemics in humans and livestock can be prevented in a timely manner.