Demography and vector-borne diseases in Kenya.

Abstract

Among the developing countries of the world, Kenya has a creditable history of demographic data collection. However, the study of the inter-relationship between demography and disease is still in its infancy. The chapter first reviews ecological regions of Kenya as a background to population distribution and foci of vector-borne diseases. The five geographical regions comprise the Lake Victoria Basin, Central Rift and associated highlands, the eastern plateau foreland, coastal region, and semi-arid northern, north-eastern and southern Kenya. Secondly, the main areas of inter-relationship between demographic and vector-borne diseases, including spatial population change, that affect the incidence and severity of such diseases are summarized. There are two groups of vector-borne diseases in Kenya at present. These include a large group of diseases such as: malaria; trypanosomiasis; leishmaniasis; mosquito-borne diseases; tickborne diseases; and filariasis (onchocerciasis). The second group comprises helminth infections associated with snails and water. Included here is schistosomiasis in its different ecological settings. Thirdly, the chapter deals with the major vector-borne diseases and their interrelationship with the demographic changes in the country, with special reference to the future.