Patience Oduor is in charge of what some might call a dress rehearsal -- not for a piece of theatre but for research that will test the effectiveness of a new vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). Her job is to find a wide group of healthy infants and adolescents whose parents consent, or who are old enough and independent enough to consent themselves, to be future participants in such a study. The programme, which is situated in Siaya, a rural district in western Kenya, is sponsored by the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is not exactly what life prepared her for; she is a medical microbiologist by education. But her current work has brought her to an understanding of microbes and the impact they have on people and society that she would not have imagined when she was studying them under a microscope.

"In essence, our job is to help people in communities here understand TB, HIV, and the harm they cause if not addressed as they should be. We do that by going to schools and talking with educators and children; by going into communities, door to door, and talking with mothers," she explains.

Often times, it is this understanding that drives parents and young people to see the value of a vaccine against TB and prompts a desire to participate in its creation. So far 5000 young people have been recruited to participate in preparatory studies designed to establish TB burden in this community; this information will help inform development of future TB vaccine trials.

Study nurses equipped with motorbikes supervise the outreach, which is done by village reporters with the support of their village chief. For school outreach, the group sets up a mobile camp that includes personnel and equipment for diagnosing both HIV and TB. They also operate at local health centres, teaching patients about the symptoms of TB and allaying their fears about getting tested for HIV and TB.

"The community in general is very receptive, but I have been surprised that many, especially the adolescents under 15, know little about HIV and TB. And at present we see a number of children and adolescents suffering from TB," Oduor says. "By preparing for this research, I believe we will have a broad impact on people's health in the district."