Recent findings indicate the need for optimization of vaccine placement for rabid animal bites within rural Kenyan healthcare network.
Disparities in access to care in acquiring targeted interventions for rabid animal bites like vaccinations are a major barrier in healthcare provision especially in rural areas in Kenya.
This is according to a recent study by a team of researchers from the University of Nairobi titled; Healthcare accessibility to rabies post-exposure prophylaxis in rural Kenya: implications for vaccine placement and travel time.
Geographical accessibility which can be influenced by distances to facilities, methods of transport, roads, and topographies in rural settings for example in Makueni County which was sampled for this study, has proven to be a major barrier to accessibility to these life-saving vaccines.
The distribution of travel times to the nearest facility for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) highlights significant disparities in access to care. In some cases where there is access to a health facility, the distance presents as a challenge to the time-sensitive nature of the vaccine.
This in turn creates a gap in consistency in compliance in taking the multiple doses required for the vaccine.
Poor road networks and lack of education on post-exposure to rabies care has also proven to be a challenge.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to the rabies virus constitutes a medical emergency that requires immediate injection with rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccines to prevent clinical disease and death.
This therefore calls for the swift action to be taken in ensuring access to this vital healthcare service. This study underscores the need to address geographic and infrastructural barriers, such as improving rural health systems and road networks.
Optimizing vaccine delivery by expanding vaccine availability at strategically located facilities would therefore improve timely PEP to bite victims and in turn boost rabies prevention to prevent human rabies deaths.
The global strategy to reach the target of zero human deaths by dog-mediated rabies by 2030 hinges on the prompt provision of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to persons exposed to the virus.
Other additional efforts to boost rabies prevention include mass dog vaccination, effective management of free-roaming dog populations and community education and awareness of rabies.
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