Poultry Ownership in Urban Kenya is Associated with Increased Fecal Contamination in Household Soil

Animal feces can contain zoonotic enteropathogens capable of causing human diarrheal disease. Limited knowledge exists on domestic animal management in low-income urban settlements. We leveraged survey data and environmental samples collected from 120 urban Kenyan households to understand poultry husbandry practices and assess if household poultry ownership was associated with Escherichia coli contamination in stored water and soil. Fifty-five percent (n = 66) of households were in poultry-owning compounds, and 59.1% (n = 39) of these households reported poultry entering the household quarters. Among these 39 households, 53.9% (n = 21) kept poultry in the sleeping quarters of under-5 children. Household poultry ownership (49.2%, n = 59) was associated with increased E. coli concentrations in soil but not with E. coli prevalence in stored water. Poultry husbandry in urban settings may promote zoonotic disease transmission, and household soil may be an important transmission pathway for poultry-associated fecal contamination. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This work was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant number OPP1200651. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was approved by the KEMRI Scientific and Ethics Review Unit (12/3823) and Tufts Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (13205). The research permit was granted by the Kenyan government through the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (19/2219/29298). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript.