Abstract
The objective of this paper is to report evaluated observations from survey records captured through a cross-sectional observational study regarding canine populations and dog owners in rabies enzootic KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Our aim was to evaluate respondent knowledge of canine rabies and response to dog bite incidents towards improved rabies control. Six communities consisting of three land use types were randomly sampled from September 2009 to January 2011, using a cluster design. A total of 1992 household records were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression modeling to evaluate source of rabies knowledge, experiences with dog bites, and factors affecting treatment received within respective households that occurred within the 365 day period prior to the surveys. 86% of the population surveyed had heard of rabies. Non-dog owners were 1.6 times more likely to have heard of rabies than dog owners; however, fear of rabies was not a reason for not owning a dog. Government veterinary services were reported most frequently as respondent source of rabies knowledge. Nearly 13% of households had a member bitten by a dog within the year prior to the surveys with 82% of the victims visiting a clinic as a response to the bite. 35% of these clinic visitors received at least one rabies vaccination. Regression modeling determined that the only response variable that significantly reflected the likelihood of a patient receiving rabies vaccination or not was the term for the area surveyed. Overall the survey showed that most respondents have heard of dog associated rabies and seek medical assistance at a clinic in response to a dog bite regardless of offending dog identification. An in-depth study involving factors associated within area clinics may highlight the area dependency for patients receiving rabies post exposure prophylaxis shown by this model.
Highlights
Rabies kills tens of thousands of people in developing countries each year, and it is estimated that almost half of global rabies incidences occur in Africa [1,2]
There has been at least one bona fide case of survival using intensive care treatment, much remains to be understood about factors determining the outcome of such treatment procedures while the required facilities and cost of procedure put such interventions outside the reach of those countries where dog and human rabies is most prevalent [4]
The results presented here are part of a larger canine ecology study conducted in KwaZulu-Natal from September 2009 through January 2011
Summary
Rabies kills tens of thousands of people in developing countries each year, and it is estimated that almost half of global rabies incidences occur in Africa [1,2]. One major factor compounding the problems of rabies is a high probability of disease underreporting. Studies in Tanzania, for example, indicated that there are ten cases for every one officially reported [1]. Once clinical signs of encephalitis become apparent, human rabies is virtually untreatable [3]. There has been at least one bona fide case of survival using intensive care treatment, much remains to be understood about factors determining the outcome of such treatment procedures while the required facilities and cost of procedure put such interventions outside the reach of those countries where dog and human rabies is most prevalent [4]. Reliance on proper wound management, and timely post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) [appropriate administration of vaccine and immunoglobulin], is crucial to the prevention of human rabies in exposed persons
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