Zoonotic Disease RFV Virus Research Proposal 2022

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Health care
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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Introduction:
Background:
Rift valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease caused by RFV virus (RVFV) that results in
severe disease in animals and humans. The virus was first isolated in the Rift Valley of Kenya
during an investigation regarding the outbreak in sheep in 1931. Since then, the incidence of
RFV has increases in sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organization, 2018). The main risk
associated with the outbreak of the disease in humans includes risk of range of infections like flu
like illness and severe diseases like hepatitis and retinitis. In 1% of cases, the disease may
become fatal due to the development of hemorrhagic diseases (Nyakarahuka et al., 2018). The
occurrence of RVF is a major burden in Africa as the epidemic has been observed in regular
intervals. Three major epidemics of RVF in South Africa were documented in the period 1950-
1951, 1974-1976 and 2010-2011. The last major outbreak was reported in 2010-2011 (Jansen
van Vuren et al., 2018). The burden of RVF in South Africa is understood from the statistics that
outbreaks of the disease in animals and humans and throughout Africa has been found which has
the potential to spread to other locations such as Europe, Asia and Middle East.
One of the important goals of an epidemiological study is to evaluate patterns and causes
of health problem in a population to get an accurate picture of the health problem and decide the
best way to address an epidemic (World Health Organization, 2018). In the context of RVF in
Africa, it has been found that review of socio-cultural and political context behind RVF is a
neglected research area. As social factors and political factors are major drivers of disease and
illness, this research proposal aims to analyse how socioeconomic and political factor can be
influencing the ratte of RVF in Africa. By reviewing the gaps and strength in past

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epidemiological study done related to RVD in Africa, this research proposal provides an
innovative research design to address past research gaps and critically examine the influence of
socioeconomic and political factors linked to RVF epidemic in Africa.
Aim and objectives:
The main aim of the epidemiology study proposal is to assess the impact of socio-cultural
and political factors on the burden of rift valley figure in Africa. The key objectives of the
proposal are as follows:
 To identify the impact of various social, political and economic factors behind the regular
occurrence of RVF in Africa
 To assess the gaps in socioeconomic and political circumstance of Africa in controlling
RVF epidemic
 To recommend suggestions to epidemiologist, medical health officials and social scientist
in preventing RVF in Africa.
Research question:
The research question that will guide this research is as follows:
How do the socio cultural and political factors influence RVF in Africa?
Literature review:
RVF can be defined as the acute viral zoonosis due to which the sheep, cattle and goats
are affected. It also affects the other wildlife as well as the humans. It is usually caused by the
mosquitoes and is usually transmitted at the time of rainfall (Muga et al., 2015). It has been seen
that the various social and physical factors are responsible for the diseases and thus, the

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interventions should be based on these factors only. It is seen that there are recent outbreaks in
the Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia that resulted in the loss of 478 deaths in the year 1998 and that
was reduced to 309 in the year 2007. Thus, the case-fatality rate or the CFR that was 50% was
reduced to 14% in that country (Himeidan, 2016).
It has been seen from the pre-existing studies that the socio-cultural and the political
factors are have a deep impact on the transmission as well as the spread of the RFV. Research
has highlighted the fact that the social factors such as the sacrificial rituals of the livestock,
consumption practices, method of food preparation, roles of the different genders and the poor
availability of the resources in the public institutes act as the key reasons for the transmission of
the disease (Gallana et al., 2013; Muga et al., 2015). Hence it can be stated that it is important
that the various socio-cultural and economic factors are important for the analysis of the entire
disease that will help in the better intervention of the disease that will help to know and analyze
the situations concerned with the spread of the disease.
From the previous studies, it is clearly known that the disease is very common among the
marginalized community as well as the poor populations. This is mainly due to the fact that these
communities and the people who belong to this community have lower access to the health
services and even if they get access to those services they are ignored by the healthcare
professionals (Peyre et al., 2015). As a result these individuals are subjected to the cycle of ill
health which along with the low income and poverty accelerates the vicious cycle of infection. It
has been shown by the research papers that the maximum number of human infections is mild,
however about less than 1% can form more severe problems that also involves the fatal
hemorrhagic disease (Muga et al., 2015).

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The first case of RVF was identified in the year 1930 in a farm in the Rift Valley of
Kenya. After the identification and isolation of the first case all the mitigation measures have
emphasized on the various veterinary and the various perspectives of health. It is seen that there
is a gap in the literature review which is the lack of proper relevance of the various sociocultural
and the physical reasons that can be linked to RVF (Gallana et al., 2013). As the research
proposal will focus on the socio cultural and the political factors thus, the research question will
focus on the norms, practices, ideologies and practices that will result in the spread, outbreak and
effects of RVF. It is very relevant with the literature review as it resonates with the
epidemiological discussion that demands for the development of evolution theory that will help
the researchers to shift the focus from the independent risk factors to the interconnected social,
political and cultural reasons (Himeidan, 2016).
As per the author Muga et al. (2015) there are a number of factors that affect the spread
the transmission and infection of the RFV. In this paper the authors have used two types of
search design. The first search strategy used is the search of articles on the PubMed database by
the use of the key terms such as the ‘Rift Valley Fever’ or ‘Rift Valley Fever in Kenya’. The next
strategy that has been used involves the literature that is unpublished and are used because it is
important as it will support the first search strategy. However, this paper also has a number of
limitations that include the search of the articles in the database. This will act as a limitation as
the idea of the article was to recognise the sociocultural impact on the disease that was ignored in
a number of articles that was used to conduct the review.
It has also been seen that the psycho-social stress acts as a major factor that can link the epidemic
of RVF. This is included by the loss of the relatives and their family members due to the
occurrence of the diseases (Dzingirai et al., 2017). The social factors that are related to the

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disease are rural household, indirect loss, loss of nutrition and loss of livestock. Thus, it is
important that the various social and political factors should be involved for the treatment and
the assessment of the disease.
Thus, there should be proper implementation of the various interventions that address the
socio-cultural and the political factors in order to mitigate the prevalence of the disease. The
focus should be more on the livestock and the various practices that should be avoided so as to
lower the effect of RFV (Baba et al., 2016). This will help in the reduction of the burden of the
disease and also improve the quality of life that is affected by the occurrence of the disease. As
the disease is primarily related to the destruction or harm of the livestock it affects the economic
status of the poor and the marginalized community individuals (Chengula, Mdegela & Kasanga,
2013). As it is seen that most of the research work on the prevalence of RVF has been done by
the large healthcare institutes, less focus was given on the sociocultural impact of the disease.
Thus, there is a need to develop cross-sectional studies that will help the researchers to
understand the different aspects of the disease. This might help in the establishment of the
awareness and education campaigns that will help in the better combat of the disease (Dash et al.,
2013).
Research methodology:
Research design:
As the review of research literature shows lack of analysis of socioeconomic constructs
of RVF in Africa, there is a need to conduct future research with robust research design to
address the gaps in past research and identify links between social factors and political factors
linked to emergence of RFV. It is proposed to use cross-sectional study design, to investigate on

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the research topic because the purpose is to investigate about the influence of social and political
factors shaping RFV occurrence at a single point. Past studies have explored this area. However,
evaluation of social and political factors at a single time has not been done before. Based on the
key aims and objective of this research proposal, cross-sectional research design is most
appropriate to address the research question. The significance of a cross-sectional research
design is that it helps in measuring outcomes and exposures in the sample population at the same
time. This kind of an observational study design is most commonly used in population based
surveys and they play a role in assessing the prevalence and patterns of disease (Setia, 2016).
The cross sectional study will be done in Kilombero districts of Tanzania and the main
rationale for selecting this setting is that it is the region were RVF cases were reported in 2007.
Hence, it would be interesting to found out what social and political factors influences the
occurrence of RVF cases in the region. Another reason for selecting this setting is that it that is is
an area with predominant economic activities. Agriculture and livestock are major occupations in
the region (Shabani et al., 2015). Hence, data collection regarding cases of RVF in the region
and its impact on farming and livestock keeping can give good idea about the political
dimensions of RVF.
Sample recruitment:
The sample for the study will include all residents living in the Kilombero districts. It is
planned to include at least 250 samples for the study. The sample recruitment will be done using
randomized cluster sampling method. It is a type of sampling method where simple random
sample is created from different clusters in the population (Rutterford, Copas & Eldridge, 2015).
The significance of taking such sampling technique is that instead of selecting samples from an

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entire population, it enables collecting data by dividing the data into small and effective groups
(Chow et al., 2017). Hence, as this research proposal aims to review socioeconomic and political
constructs of RVF in Africa, instead of conducting the study with entire population (which is not
feasible), random clusters can be picked for the study. Therefore, a target 250 residents will be
selected by randomized cluster sampling of households.
Data collection:
Data related to the research question will be collected by means of survey method
consisting of third sets of structured questionnaire. The important of cross sectional survey
design is that it helps to gather targeted results for a study in less time (Hulland, Baumgartner &
Smith, 2018). The survey question will specifically have questionnaires related to study purpose
and objectives. The first set of questionnaire will collect data related to household demography
and cases of RVF disease in animals and humans. The second questionnaire will collect data on
social and political dimensions contributing RVF. This set of question will develop
understanding regarding social factors contributing to the prevalence of RVF disease and the
political activities implemented so far to tackle the epidemics. The third set of questionnaire will
explore details related to their suggestions and expectations to control transmission of the disease
and control the RVF epidemic. The data will be recorded in Microsoft Excel sheet and social and
political dimensions will be compared.
Data analysis:
Statistical method will be used for analysis of data related to percentage of RVF cases in
animals and humans. The statistical significance of data related to economic and political
constructs of RVF will be determined by the estimation of odds ratio and confidence intervals.

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The statistical analysis will be done using the SPSS statistical package. The results will discuss
specifically about the link between RVF cases and socioeconomic circumstances.
Ethical considerations:
All ethical considerations during research method will be addressed. The approval for
research will be taken from the relevant Institutional Review Board of Tanzania. The district
authorities of Tanzania will be contacted too to take permission to conduct survey with the
residents. Before conducting surveys with individual participants, the ethical requirement of
informed consent will be taken from individual participants. The participants will be eligible for
participation only after they sign the written consent form. The written consent form will give
details about the purpose of research, the key intentions and broader scope of the research and
risk and benefits associated with the research. All clauses related to privacy and confidentiality
will be explained too. According to the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report,
informed consent is an important ethical and legal requirement for research with human
participants. It allows research participants to take informed and voluntary decisions to take part
in the study. It helps to address conflicts that might occur during research process due to
difference in understanding about research aim between participants and researchers (Nijhawan
et al., 2013).
Scope of the research:
It is expected that the research outcome will develop understanding regarding key
political and socioeconomic constructs shaping RVF in Africa. The findings will increase
knowledge related to strength and limitation of actions taken to control RVF in the region. It will
facilitate policy related changes and increase collaborative efforts to control regular cases of

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RVF in Africa. The focus on conducting the study in a high risk area with regular occurrence of
RVF is the strength of the research.
Timeline:
It is expected the proposed research will be conducted within six months. The following
is the detailed timeline of the research process with details of activities to be covered in each
stage of the research.
Key activities October
2019
November
2019
December
2019
January
2019
February
2019
March
2019
Development
of research
question and
research plan
Ethical
approval
from the
research
committee
Employment
of research
staffs and
epidemiologist
Development
of survey

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questionnaire
Site visit and
permission
from district
authorities
Sample
recruitment
Data
collection
Data analysis
and
presentation
of research
Dissemination
of research
findings

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References:
Baba, M., Masiga, D. K., Sang, R., & Villinger, J. (2016). Has Rift Valley fever virus evolved
with increasing severity in human populations in East Africa?. Emerging microbes &
infections, 5(1), 1-10.
Chengula, A. A., Mdegela, R. H., & Kasanga, C. J. (2013). Socio-economic impact of Rift
Valley fever to pastoralists and agro pastoralists in Arusha, Manyara and Morogoro
regions in Tanzania. Springerplus, 2(1), 549.
Chow, S. C., Shao, J., Wang, H., & Lokhnygina, Y. (2017). Sample size calculations in clinical
research. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Dash, A. P., Bhatia, R., Sunyoto, T., & Mourya, D. T. (2013). Emerging and re-emerging
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(2017). Zoonotic diseases: who gets sick, and why? Explorations from Africa. Critical
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infectious diseases of wildlife: altered interactions between pathogens, vectors and
hosts. Current Zoology, 59(3), 427-437.
Himeidan, Y. E. (2016). Rift Valley fever: current challenges and future prospects. Research and
reports in tropical medicine, 7, 1.

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Hulland, J., Baumgartner, H., & Smith, K. M. (2018). Marketing survey research best practices:
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