Abstract
Rabies is endemic in Côte d'Ivoire and was identified in January 2017 as a priority zoonosis by all stakeholders in public health. A well-designed integrated national rabies control is essential to attain the objective of zero human deaths from dog rabies by 2030. The current study describes the complementary elements of dog bite risk factors and the dog population estimate that are relevant for planning sustainable interventions.We conducted a transverse survey in 8′004 households in the departments of San Pedro (4′002) and Bouaké (4′002), covering both rural and urban areas. The dog-household ratio was estimated at one dog for three households (0.33) or one dog for 20 people (0.05).The owned canine population on a national level was estimated at 1′400’654 dogs (range 1′276’331 to 1′535’681). The main dog bite risk factors were dog ownership, being male, and living in urban San Pedro Department.The results lay a foundation for public engagement and further steps for mass vaccination of the household dog population to reach vaccination coverage of at least 80%. Stakeholders further recommend raising awareness of dog owners, reinforcing knowledge in school children and young boys, and behavior changes towards domestic animals.
Highlights
Rabies is a neglected tropical disease that causes on average 59′000 human deaths each year worldwide, especially in poor and vulnerable populations (Hampson 2015)
The overall proportion of dog was 79.6% of dogs in rural areas compared to 21.4% of dogs in urban areas
In the Department of San Pedro, the dog population of the 2′001 households investigated in the rural area is estimated at 544 dogs, representing 70% and that of the 2001 households investigated in the urban area is estimated to 277 dogs, representing 30% of the dog population in the households investigated
Summary
Rabies is a neglected tropical disease that causes on average 59′000 human deaths each year worldwide, especially in poor and vulnerable populations (Hampson 2015). In Africa and Asia, 99% of these deaths are due to dog rabies (WHO, 2005). Considerable efforts have been made in Latin America to combat rabies, despite its persistence in Haiti and Bolivia (Schneider et al, 2007, GARC, 2012). In Europe, most Western and Central European countries have been successful in eliminating rabies from domestic carnivores (Bourghy et al, 2015). This progress recorded in control contrasts with the situation in Africa and in Asia, where rabies persists (Lembdo and Al., 2010), due to numerous obstacles including difficulties of owners to vaccinate their dogs, insufficient epidemiological surveillance of rabies, insufficient community engagement, insufficient resources of the veterinary services and lack of information on the dog population (Lembdo and Al., 2010)
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