Abstract
BackgroundHuman rabies remains a significant public health problem in Africa with outbreaks reported in most countries. In Nigeria–the most populous country in Africa–rabies causes a significant public health burden partly due to perennial obstacles to implementing a national prevention and control program.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review using standard Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify and select published articles from Nigeria during 1978–2020 reporting on rabies virus infections (human, canine, livestock, and wildlife), canine bites, knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) surveys on rabies and canine ecology studies. We extracted information on study location, year and additional details of each study such as rabies prevalence, general characteristics of offending dogs, dog vaccination status and health-seeking behaviours.FindingsBetween 1978 and 2020, 90 published articles met our inclusion criteria. The prevalence of rabies virus antigen detection varied between 3% and 28%, with more studies in the north. Most bites were unprovoked from dog bite studies (36.4%-97%), by dogs with low vaccination rates (12–38%). A more significant proportion of biting dogs were owned (31–90%). Laboratory confirmation for biting was available for only a small proportion of studies (6%; n = 2/32). Of the dogs surveyed during ecology studies, indigenous dogs accounted for the majority (62–98%), used mostly for security purposes (52–98%), with the vaccination rate between 15% and 38% in most states. Studies conducted in areas distant from rabies diagnostic facilities accounted for more human rabies cases and fewer dog rabies cases.ConclusionSignificant improvements are necessary to achieve the elimination of human rabies mediated via dogs by 2030.
Highlights
Rabies is a fatal and progressive zoonotic neurological disease caused primarily by rabies virus RV, a member of the Lyssavirus genus affecting all warm-blooded animals, mainly transmitted through bites from rabid animals [1]
A total of 33% (n = 30/ 90) of studies reported dog bite incidence, 36% (n = 32/90) reported prevalence of RV diagnostic detection among dogs slaughtered for human consumption, 9% (n = 8/90) were dog ecology studies, 7% (n = 6/90) reported community KAP surveys, 8% (n = 7/90) were studies on rabies in livestock and 8% (n = 7/90) were studies on wildlife rabies
Dog trade for human consumption presents significant public health risks, to community members such as dog meat butchers and consumers involved in the market chain
Summary
Rabies is a fatal and progressive zoonotic neurological disease caused primarily by rabies virus RV, a member of the Lyssavirus genus (in the family Rhadoviridae of the order Mononegavirales) affecting all warm-blooded animals, mainly transmitted through bites from rabid animals [1]. 99% of human rabies deaths are due to bites from rabid dogs [2,3]. Data on dog bite injuries and related mortality are fragmented in most developing countries [4]. Effective vaccines are available for humans and animals, rabies is still estimated to result in about 3.7 million years of life lost and $8.6 billion economic losses per year [3]. Human rabies remains a significant public health problem in Africa with outbreaks reported in most countries. In Nigeria–the most populous country in Africa–rabies causes a significant public health burden partly due to perennial obstacles to implementing a national prevention and control program
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