Abstract
Canine rabies is enzootic throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, including the Republic of South Africa. Historically, in South Africa the coastal provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape were most affected. Alarmingly, outbreaks of canine rabies have been increasingly reported in the past decade from sites where it has previously been under control. From January 2010 to December 2011, 53 animal rabies cases were confirmed; these were mostly in domestic dogs from southern Johannesburg, which was previously considered to be rabies free. In addition, one case was confirmed in a 26-month old girl who had been scratched by a pet puppy during this period. The introduction of rabies into Gauteng Province was investigated through genetic analysis of rabies positive samples confirmed during the outbreak period. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of incidental cases reported in the province for the past ten years were also included in the analysis. It was found that the recent canine rabies outbreak in the Gauteng Province came from the introduction of the rabies virus from KwaZulu-Natal, with subsequent local spread in the susceptible domestic dog population of southern Johannesburg. The vulnerability of the province was also highlighted through multiple, dead-end introductions in the past ten years. This is the first report of a rabies outbreak in the greater Johannesburg area with evidence of local transmission in the domestic dog population.
Highlights
Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by non-segmented RNA viruses belonging to the Lyssavirus genus, family Rhabdoviridae
In 2005, a marked increase in the number of canine rabies cases was reported in Limpopo Province (LP), this coincided with the laboratory confirmation of 22 human rabies cases (Cohen et al 2007)
53 positive rabies cases (2010, n = 36 and 2011, n = 17) were confirmed from Gauteng Province (GP) for the period January 2010 to December 2011. The majority of these were from domestic dogs (n = 46, 86.7%) and the remaining cases were from bovines (n = 3, 0.01%) and one each from an unidentified mongoose, a banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), a small spotted genet (Genetta genetta) and a domestic cat (Felis catus). This rabies outbreak was associated with one confirmed human rabies case that was reported in October 2010
Summary
Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by non-segmented RNA viruses belonging to the Lyssavirus genus, family Rhabdoviridae. Canine rabies ( referred to as canid rabies) was introduced into the Republic of South Africa on several occasions, but most significantly in 1976. In 2005, a marked increase in the number of canine rabies cases was reported in Limpopo Province (LP), this coincided with the laboratory confirmation of 22 human rabies cases (Cohen et al 2007). Since 2008, canid rabies has re-emerged in Mpumalanga Province, with the disease radiating northwards and affecting areas where it was previously under control (Mkhize et al 2010). Human rabies cases are confirmed annually in South Africa and the majority of cases are linked to domestic dog exposures, this emphasises the importance of controlling the disease in dogs in order to prevent human cases (Weyer et al 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call