Rabies Vaccination in Dogs in Laos: Owner Knowledge and Serological Status of Dogs.

Lovisa Velander,Johanna Frida Lindahl,Amphone Keosengthong,Johanna Fogelberg,Vannaphone Putthana

doi:10.3390/pathogens11010069

Abstract

Rabies is an infectious disease which is virtually 100% fatal. Humans are most often infected through the bite of an infected dog, and most cases could be prevented by vaccinating dogs. However, vaccination coverage is insufficient in most countries where canine rabies occurs endemically. This study conducted interviews and sampling of dogs in Laos to understand more about the barriers for vaccination and to evaluate the antibody status of dogs using a commercial ELISA. The study found that only 62% out of 359 dog owners knew what rabies was, and only 24% knew the disease could be fatal. Higher education was associated with higher knowledge scores. Only 56 out of 437 (13%) dogs had been rabies vaccinated according to their owner, and out of these dogs, only 34 (61%) had antibodies, and only 48% had adequate levels (above 0.5 IU/mL). However, 24% of the dogs with no known history of vaccination had antibodies, indicating either exposure or vaccination in the past without the owner’s awareness. In conclusion, this study indicates that there is a low level of knowledge about rabies, and that owner knowledge is not a good indicator of whether a dog is vaccinated or not.

Highlights

Rabies is caused by a lyssavirus in the family rhabdoviridae that can infect all mammals, and once symptoms appear it is nearly always fatal [1,2,3]
Canine rabies is responsible for more human deaths than any other zoonotic disease [7], and the vast majority of the estimated 59,000 human deaths [8] worldwide are the result of bites from rabid dogs, with most deaths occurring in Asia [4,9,10] and children being most affected
For a country to be able to become free of canine rabies it is recommended that 70% of the dog population, both owned and stray, has an adequate immunization against rabies virus [13,14]

Summary

Introduction

Rabies is caused by a lyssavirus in the family rhabdoviridae that can infect all mammals, and once symptoms appear it is nearly always fatal [1,2,3]. Rabies is a disease that is 100% preventable through vaccination [4]. Despite that, it is still endemic in many regions in the world, where most cases of human rabies are seen in Africa and Asia [5,6]. Canine rabies is responsible for more human deaths than any other zoonotic disease [7], and the vast majority of the estimated 59,000 human deaths [8] worldwide are the result of bites from rabid dogs, with most deaths occurring in Asia [4,9,10] and children being most affected. Since dogs are the main reservoir and source of infection for humans, vaccination of dogs is recognized as the most cost-effective and permanent solution to rabies prevention [11,12]. For a country to be able to become free of canine rabies it is recommended that 70% of the dog population, both owned and stray, has an adequate immunization against rabies virus [13,14]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion