Research shows disease may be more likely to jump from animals to humans in parts of a city with high densities of people, livestock and urban-adapted wildlife.
The study, done in the fast-growing capital city of Nairobi, Kenya was led by scientists at the University of Liverpool. It shows risk areas tend to be lower income with a lack of adequate sanitation and waste management as well as lower levels of biodiversity.
Findings were based on genetic relationships between Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria collected from more than 2,000 people, livestock and urban wildlife from 33 locations across Nairobi.
The study, which was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) was conducted from 2013 to 2017. It led by Professor Eric Fèvre, Chair of Veterinary Infectious Diseases at the University of Liverpool and the then PhD student at the University of Liverpool, Dr James Hassell in collaboration with Kenyan partners.
