The CCPZ rabies surveillance program: an inclusive learning model for addressing one-health educational challenge in West African sub-region

Abstract

Introduction : one-health action against rabies can be driven by training programmes geared towards knowledge and skills in zoonosis surveillance and prevention in West Africa. Rabies surveillance programmes are relatively few and inadequate in higher education in the sub-region; hence require critical review. A systematic review was sponsored by the Centre for Control and Prevention of Zoonoses (CCPZ), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, for certificate of participation in rabies surveillance program. Since community participation is fundamental to effectively implement rabies surveillance, two lead questions were posed, namely: How can trained lay persons be better utilized to facilitate rabies surveillance program at the community level? And how can inclusive learning in one-health mode be applied to post-graduate programmes for surveillance of rabies in West Africa? Method : data were collected from 4 major specialised data base search engines on liberal art and science approaches to rabies surveillance education. One thousand, one hundred and eighty-nine papers were retrieved. Predefined selection criteria on teaching outcome and nature of collaboration were used to select 7 of these papers for review, using systematic analysis of the literature. Results : revised curriculum enlists experiential learning about epidemiologic networking of physicians, veterinarians, geographers, laboratorians, statisticians, sociologists and lay persons; eliciting care seeking preferences of animal bite victims (ABVs); categorizing ABVs into suspected, probable and confirmed rabies exposures; converting ABVs’ geographic locations to map points; estimating annual human death, associated spatial cluster, time-trend model, vaccination status and involved virus molecules. Conclusion : an inclusive one-health curriculum is developed for rabies surveillance in West African sub-region.