Canine Rabies Research Articles

La Rabia, una enfermedad ancestral muy vigente

Rabies is an acute and fatal infectious disease. It mainly affects the central nervous system and the virus usually enters the body through the bite of a rabid animal. It is a zoonosis that still kills between 40,000 and 70,000 people each year and 40% of them are children. This disease has been known and referred to since the time of the Greeks. In several countries, urban rabies transmitted by dogs continues: however, in 2019, Mexico was recognized as “free of canine rabies by the World Health Organization. After the transmission of canine rabies to humans was controlled, bat rabies has become the leading cause of rabies in humans and animals in several Latin American countries. Vampire bat rabies is a problem that challenges public and animal health authorities, and solutions must be implemented in a coordinated manner, using and improving detection of the virus and antibodies in vaccinated animals, carrying out active surveillance. It is urgent to implement the “One Health” vision to combat this and other common diseases.

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward rabies among visitors of a family health center

Background Rabies is a highly contagious but still an undervalued zoonotic disease. The disease affects almost all mammals, and infected species will always die owing to the disease once the associated clinical signs appear. Dog-mediated rabies is responsible for 99% of rabies transmission to humans, and as a result, it leads to rabies-related human deaths, despite the fact that canine rabies vaccination is extremely effective and provides protection. Rabies control, prevention, and management necessitates adequate information about community knowledge, attitudes, and practices linked to rabies disease. Aim To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward rabies among visitors of a family health center. Patients and methods A descriptive research design was used. Setting The study was conducted at Abu Al-Saud Family Health Center, Masr El-Kadema medical health sector, Cairo. Sample A convenience sample of 240 visitors of Abu Al-Saud Family Health Center was included. Tools A rabies KAP questionnaire was prepared by the investigators for visitors of the family health center. It consists of 47 questions, including the following four parts: part A, demographic characteristics; part B, knowledge of participants about rabies disease; part C, the three-point Likert scale for attitudes; and part D, assessment of participants’ practices after dog bites. Results The current study revealed that all participants were living in urban area and 66.3% of the study participants did not know what rabies is. Regarding participants’ attitudes, 82.9% of the study participants agreed that stray dogs were considered a problem in the Egyptian society. Concerning participants’ practice, 79.6% of them went to the nearest health facilities to receive health care as a first aid for the wounds caused by a dog or any other animal bite. Conclusion Overall, 98.3% of the study participants had poor knowledge about rabies, 84.6% of them had a negative attitude toward rabies, and 100%of them had unacceptable level of practice regarding dog bites. Recommendation Education health programs should be conducted about rabies disease to improve people’s knowledge, attitude, and practice toward rabies. Further research studies should be performed on a larger sample in different community settings across the country with the intention to generalize the results.

Rabies healthcare-seeking behaviors of urban and peri-urban residents: Results from a rabies knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey, Bangladesh, 2018.

Rabies is one of the most lethal infectious diseases, with those living in Asia and Africa having the highest risk of dying from rabies. We conducted a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey in urban and peri-urban areas of Bangladesh to describe canine bite rates, rabies knowledge, and healthcare seeking behaviors and barriers to human and dog vaccination. A bite risk assessment score (BRAS) and healthcare-seeking behavior score (HSBS) was calculated for each bite victim. Respondents were given two hypothetical situations to assess potential behaviors after a bite and willingness to pay for rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin. In total, 2,447 households participated in the survey and 85 bite victims were identified. The BRAS identified that 31% of bites posed no risk of rabies transmission. Multivariate analyses showed that living in Chittagong (β = 1.4; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.7) was associated with a higher HSBS. Findings presented here provide useful information regarding bite occurrences, healthcare-seeking behaviors, and a need for strategies to increase rabies awareness.

Perception of canine rabies among pupils under 15 years in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria.

Rabies is an endemic, highly fatal, and vaccine-preventable disease with severe socio-economic implications. Most (99%) human rabies cases are transmitted through dog bites. Children under 15 years account for 40% of all dog bite victims and 35–50% of all rabies deaths. Rabies awareness among this vulnerable group is critical to rabies prevention. However, there is a paucity of data on rabies awareness among pupils under 15. Hence, this study assessed the awareness and attitude of pupils under 15 years towards canine rabies in Kwara state in Nigeria. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey of 1,388 pupils across the state using a structured questionnaire that was administered as a one-on-one interview using the Open Data Kit on Android phones in December 2019. Of the 1388 pupils included in this study, only 21.7% (n = 301) of them were aware of rabies. The mean rabies score was 1.7±0.8 and only 29.2% (n = 88/301) of the pupils had adequate knowledge of canine rabies. The dog ownership rate was 18.7% (n = 259) with an average of 1.93 dogs per household. Approximately 5% (n = 66) of the pupils have been previously bitten by a dog. One-third of the dog bite victims (35%, n = 23/66) were managed and treated at home and only 12% (n = 8/66) were treated in a health facility. The result of the multivariable logistic regression showed that students aged between 13–15 years were more likely (OR: 1.93; 95% CI: 0.72–3.01; p < 0.001) to have adequate knowledge of rabies than the younger pupils. Similarly, pupils that have dogs in their households (OR: 2.09; 95%CI: 1.49–2.75; p < 0.001) and those that reside in Kwara South (OR:1.78 95% CI:1.29, 2.44; p < 0.001) were more likely to be aware and have adequate knowledge of canine rabies respectively. Finally, Pupils from non-dog-owning households were more likely (OR:2.2; 95% CI: 1.45, 4.42; p < 0.001) to have been bitten by dogs than those from dog-owning households. The awareness and attitude of pupils under 15 to canine rabies was poor. We advocate the introduction of rabies lessons into the school curriculum in Kwara State to reduce the incidence of dog bites and prevent dog-mediated human rabies.

Alternative Methods to Current In Vivo Procedures to Address the 3Rs Tenet in Rabies Proficiency Testing.

Canine rabies is responsible for an estimated 59,000 human deaths every year. In an attempt to reach the ZeroBy30 goal, robust disease surveillance coupled with improved diagnostics play a paramount role in ensuring reliable data and gradually attesting rabies control advancements. In this context, proficiency testing is organized to harmonize rabies diagnostic capacities. In most exercises, rabies-positive samples consist of brains collected from intracerebrally inoculated mice. This procedure causes distress and severe suffering to animals, raising important ethical concerns that can no longer be ignored. In the last decades, the 3Rs tenet (Replace, Reduce, Refine) has been successfully implemented in several scientific areas, and we strongly support its application in the framework of rabies proficiency testing. Here, we discuss cell-based technologies as innovative sustainable in vitro candidate systems to replace in vivo experiments for the production of proficiency testing samples. The application of these alternative methods can allow completely in vitro or ex vivo production of rabies proficiency testing panels, which would represent an important replacement or reduction/refinement for current in vivo procedures.

Understanding Rabies Transmission Dynamics and Control in the Three Administrative Districts of Davao City Using a Modified SEIV Model

Despite the control programs of the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO), rabies is still geographically widespread across Davao City. Hence, a modified SEIV model incorporating different control strategies and adding population compartments focusing on reported rabies cases was formulated to understand dog rabies transmission dynamics. The model was fitted to the datasets of CVO from 2006–2020, such as the cumulative monthly positive rabies cases and the number of examined positive rabies samples in Talomo, Buhangin, and Poblacion districts. Results showed that the Talomo district had the highest rabies transmission rate but the lowest castration rate. On the other hand, the Poblacion district had the highest impounding rate and castration rate but the lowest birth and vaccination rate. Finally, the Buhangin district had the highest birth rate and vaccination rate but the lowest impounding rate and transmission rate. Sensitivity analysis (SA) was performed on over 10,000 samples of parameter space by the LHS method to obtain PRCC values. Results of the SA revealed that dog vaccination had a significantly strong influence among many interventions in mitigating rabies transmission – consistently in Talomo, Poblacion, and Buhangin districts. The results obtained in this study support the CVO’s ongoing mass canine rabies vaccination campaign in the city as a method of rabies control. Despite this, dog population control strategies (i.e. castration and impounding) must still be implemented in addition to intensifying vaccination strategy, as the birth rate also strongly contributes to increasing rabies transmission. Through the model and data fitting approaches, this study has provided information on the level of control measures implemented in three districts and can also be utilized to develop future rabies epidemiological models in Davao City and other locations.

Spatio-temporal epidemiology of animal and human rabies in northern South Africa between 1998 and 2017

BackgroundRabies is a fatal zoonotic disease that is maintained in domestic dogs and wildlife populations in the Republic of South Africa. A retrospective study was conducted to improve understanding of the dynamics of rabies in humans, domestic dogs, and wildlife species, in relation to the ecology for three northern provinces of South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North-West) between 1998 and 2017.MethodsA descriptive epidemiology study was conducted for human and animal rabies. Dog rabies cases were analyzed using spatio-temporal scan statistics. The reproductive number (Rt) was estimated for the identified disease clusters. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the genome sequences of rabies viruses isolated from dogs, jackals, and an African civet, and Bayesian evolutionary analysis using a strict time clock model. Several ecological and socio-economic variables associated with dog rabies were modeled using univariate analyses with zero-inflated negative binomial regression and multivariable spatial analyses using the integrated nested Laplace approximation for two time periods: 1998–2002 and 2008–2012.ResultsHuman rabies cases increased in 2006 following an increase in dog rabies cases; however, the human cases declined in the next year while dog rabies cases fluctuated. Ten disease clusters of dog rabies were identified, and utilizing the phylogenetic tree, the dynamics of animal rabies over 20 years was elucidated. In 2006, a virus strain that re-emerged in eastern Limpopo Province caused the large and persistent dog rabies outbreaks in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. Several clusters included a rabies virus variant maintained in jackals in Limpopo Province, and the other variant in dogs widely distributed. The widely distributed variant maintained in jackal populations in North-West Province caused an outbreak in dogs in 2014. The Rt was high when the disease clusters were associated with either multiple virus strains or multiple animal species. High-risk areas included Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces characterized by woodlands and high temperatures and precipitation.ConclusionCanine rabies was maintained mainly in dog populations but was also associated with jackal species. Rural communities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces were at high risk of canine rabies originating from dogs.

Risk Factors Responsible for Canine Rabies in Zamfara State, Nigeria

The global community aims to eliminate human deaths from dog mediated Rabies by 2030. For Nigeria, a rabies endemic country to join the list of countries that have successfully eliminated rabies, there is need for more risk factor studies that addresses her peculiar environment. This study identifies risk factors responsible for rabies cases in Zamfara, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out among dog owners in Zamfara State by administering questionnaires. Seventy questionnaires were administered directly to dog owners across fourteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Zamfara state to identify the possible risk factors and IBM SPSS 21 was used to determine the relative risk of Canine Rabies incidence across the state when exposed to each of the identified risk factors. The knowledge of rabies is very poor (17%) among the dog owners, with only 9% of the total respondents that were able to describe the clinical signs and symptoms of the disease in dogs. Only 5% of the respondents have record of previous vaccination of their dogs against Rabies. Extensive system of management increased the risk of the disease among dogs of the state by 80% and caused its spread from infected to un-infected dogs. Risk factors identified could be likely hindrances to eradicating Canine Rabies in the State. It is hoped that results of this study will encourage other States to carry out similar investigation to aid understanding the sustenance dynamics of the disease.

Serological Evidence of Canine Rabies and Dog Owners’ Response about the Disease in Selected Veterinary Clinics within Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

Canine rabies is endemic in Nigeria as evident by several reports, however, it is a vaccine preventable disease in both animals and man. Dog owners’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) toward rabies is instrumental to a successful rabies prevention and control measures against transmission. This study determined the prevalence of rabies antibodies in owned dogs and assessed KAPof dog owners toward rabies in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria in a cross sectional study conducted between January, 2019 and March, 2019. Sera from 100 dog blood samples were collected but only 92 samples were subjected to Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) using Rabies Virus IgG Ab (DEMEDITEC Diagnostics GmbH, Lise-Meitner Strase 2, 24145 Kiel, Germany). Zoographic data obtained showed 61 (66.3%) dogs sampled were female, the dogs were kept majorly for security (n=54) and breeding (n=28). Vaccination records revealed that 13 (14.1%) of the dogs were not vaccinated against rabies. Analysis revealed good KAP scores of the dog owners at 75%, 95% and 95%, respectively. There was a statistically significant association between qualification (no formal education) and categorised attitude scores (P = 0.003) also between no formal education and categorised practice scores (P = 0.026). In conclusion, majority (93.5%) of the dogs tested had rabies antibodies which may indicate previous vaccination. Although dog owners KAP were good, majority (62%) were ignorant that rabies has no cure. Public health awareness on the dangers of rabies and annual dog anti-rabies vaccination toward elimination of dog-mediated human rabies, still needs to be intensified and sustained.

Determinants of Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Drop-Out in the Region of San-Pedro, Côte d'Ivoire.

Despite the fact that death from rabies is 100% preventable with a course of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment, canine rabies still causes about 59,000 human deaths worldwide annually, half of which are occurring in Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire, rabies remains a threat partly due to the high drop-out rate of the life-saving human PEP treatment among people exposed to dog bites. Each year, half of the victims starting treatment, do not complete the course. The current study therefore assessed the determinants for drop-out of the life-saving treatment among people exposed to rabies in the department of San-Pedro in Côte d'Ivoire.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used, including questionnaires, observation, individual interviews and focus group discussions, to gather socio-demographic and economic data from 235 participants about possible reasons for abandoning treatment. The study population consisted of patients and medical and veterinary health professionals who were selected using stratified sampling and purposive selection from a database available at the Rabies Center of San Pedro.ResultThe drop-out of PEP treatment was related to perception bias and a habit of low attendance of health care and vaccination centers in the population. Quantitative analysis shows differences between rural and urban areas and an association with age when it comes to treatment completion. The dropout rate was most significant among patients who, in case of other illness, did not routinely see a doctor or go to vaccination centers. The rate of abandonment was higher among those who believed that dog-related injuries could be easily treated at home, and who believed that a person with rabies could be cured without completing the preventive treatment. Insufficient provision of health information on rabies and logistic constraints related to the practical organization of treatment, including the long distance to the anti-rabies center and weaknesses in the patient follow-up procedure, did not contribute to the completion of PEP.ConclusionEstablished determinants for drop-out provide a framework for effective design and implementation of rabies control strategies to accelerate rabies deaths elimination efforts. In particular, access to PEP and community knowledge about rabies need to be improved and integrated in the health system and education system, respectively.

The Impact of the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Canine Rabies Control Efforts: A Mixed-Methods Study of Observations About the Present and Lessons for the Future

Achieving zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies has been set as a global target for 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted essential health services across the world, with disproportionate impacts on Neglected Tropical Diseases. Through a mixed-method study using stakeholder questionnaires and in-depth interviews, we examined the scale and nature of disruption from the first year of the pandemic to rabies control programs, and reflected on lessons for the future. Study participants included practitioners and policymakers working in government, academia, international organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry across 48 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. Mass dog vaccination, essential to rabies control, was most heavily impacted and in 2020, was carried out as planned in just 5% of surveyed countries. Access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) also decreased due to fear of COVID-19 infection and difficulties in reaching health care centers. Dog vaccination and PEP delivery suffered from disruptions to the importation and distribution of vaccines. School closures affected rabies awareness activities and, when public events moved online, they could not reach the most disadvantaged groups. Surveillance, already weak, was severely disrupted by movement restrictions which, together with reduced demand for PEP, exacerbated under-reporting. Participants reported growing complaints around free-roaming dogs, with numbers likely to have increased in some settings. In some countries, dog rabies outbreaks and human rabies cases were already ascribed to the pandemic, but further impacts are likely still to be realized. Meanwhile, decreased demand for PEP from COVID-19 constraints could lead to reduced procurement in future. In the wake of post-COVID-19 demands on health services, there is an opportunity for veterinary services to show leadership in progressing the Zero by 30 agenda, particularly in scaling up mass dog vaccination within and across countries, as well as potential to make better use of community-based vaccinators. Countries must further secure stable procurement of dog and human vaccines, classifying them as essential goods prioritized for import and where needed, through sharing of stocks. Dedicated telemedicine services also show promise, for example through fostering participatory disease surveillance, including Integrated Bite Case Management, and delivering up-to-date instructions on the closest sources of PEP.

Rabies immune status of vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs in Kwara State, Nigeria

Rabies is one of the deadliest zoonoses that have existed for decades, affecting wide range of hosts globally. In Nigeria, there is paucity of data on routine antibody check of antirabies vaccinated dogs as quality assurance. This study was designed to investigate the seroprevalence of canine rabies virus in both vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs within Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and eighty-two (182) blood samples collected from dogs were transported to the Virology and Immunology Laboratory of the University of Ilorin Veterinary Teaching Hospital for processing. Sera were harvested from the blood samples and rabies IgG was qualitatively determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Overall seroprevalence of 11% (20/182) was recorded in this study. One hundred and twenty-one (66.5%) and Sixty-one (33.5%) of the dogs used in this study had vaccination and non-vaccination status respectively. The study also revealed that several dogs (78.7%; 48/61) that were said to be vaccinated did not have rabies antibodies while some unvaccinated dogs (5.8%; 7/121) had rabies antibodies. There was a significant (χ2 = 11.177, df = 4, P = 0.025) association between age group and rabies virus antibodies detection. The same significant (χ2 = 9.995, df = 1, P = .002) association was observed for vaccination status of dogs sampled. On the other hand, sex has no significant (χ2 = 0.71, df = 1, P = .790) association with rabies virus antibodies. Poor attitude to vaccination of dogs used for hunting in rural and semi-urban areas was generally observed compared to dogs kept for other purposes in urban areas. There is need for increased rabies awareness campaign, vaccine subsidies, and wider sero-surveillance activities engaging the relevant stakeholders with government sponsorship.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CAT’S ROLE IN THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RABIES

Rabies is a fatal zoonosis of world importance that in many aspects is still neglected. Due to national vaccination campaigns for dogs and cats, there has been a drastic reduction in the number of cases of human rabies transmitted by dogs. However, due to species peculiarities, the cat can act as an important link in the epidemiological chain of rabies. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate Brazilian data on canine and feline rabies surveillance to determine the importance of the cat in the current context of rabies epidemiology. In Brazil, recent cases of human rabies transmitted by cats have been reported, showing the importance of this species in the epidemiological chain of the disease.

A cocktail of human monoclonal antibodies broadly neutralizes North American rabies virus variants as a promising candidate for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis

Human rabies remains a globally significant public health problem. Replacement of polyclonal anti-rabies immunoglobulin (RIG), a passive component of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), with a monoclonal antibody (MAb), would eliminate the cost and availability constraints associated with RIG. Our team has developed and licensed a human monoclonal antibody RAB1 (Rabishield©), as the replacement for RIG where canine rabies is enzootic. However, for the highly diverse rabies viruses of North America, a cocktail containing two or more MAbs targeting different antigenic sites of the rabies glycoprotein should be included to ensure neutralization of all variants of the virus. In this study, two MAb cocktails, R172 (RAB1-RAB2) and R173 (RAB1-CR57), were identified and evaluated against a broad range of rabies variants from North America. R173 was found to be the most potent cocktail, as it neutralized all the tested North American RABV isolates and demonstrated broad coverage of isolates from both terrestrial and bat species. R173 could be a promising candidate as an alternative or replacement for RIG PEP in North America.

Epidemiological Interface of Sylvatic and Dog Rabies in the North West Province of South Africa.

Rabies is a viral zoonosis that causes an estimated 59,000 preventable human fatalities every year. While more than 120 countries remain endemic for dog-mediated rabies, the burden is the highest in Africa and Asia where 99% of human rabies cases are caused by domestic dogs. One such rabies-endemic country is South Africa where an estimated 42 preventable human deaths occur every year. Although canine rabies had been well described for most of the provinces in South Africa, the epidemiology of rabies within the North West Province had not been well defined prior to this investigation. As such, the aim of this study was to use nucleotide sequence analyses to characterise the extant molecular epidemiology of rabies in the North West Province of South Africa—with specific focus on the interface between dogs and sylvatic species. To this end, Rabies lyssavirus isolates originating from the North West Province were subjected to molecular epidemiological analyses relying on the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methodology on two distinct gene regions, viz. the G-L intergenic region and partial nucleoprotein gene. Our results provided strong evidence in support of an endemic cycle of canine rabies in the East of the province, and three independent endemic cycles of sylvatic rabies spread throughout the province. Furthermore, evidence of specific events of virus spill-over between co-habiting sylvatic species and domestic dogs was found. These results suggest that the elimination of canine-mediated rabies from the province will rely not only on eliminating the disease from the dog populations, but also from the co-habiting sylvatic populations using oral rabies vaccination campaigns.

Of love and other demons: depicting human rabies in Colombia

Human rabies has been described by various cultures in many countries around the world. Gabriel García Márquez's novel Of love and other demons recounts the story of a girl who, in colonial Colombia in the 18th century, was bitten by a rabid dog. This paper aims to review the general status of the disease in Colombia and interweave it with García Márquez's book. Developed countries have successfully controlled dog-mediated rabies virus transmission, whereas in some countries in Latin America wildlife and canine rabies are still an issue. Our approach suggests that although the measures that have been taken to mitigate dog-transmitted rabies have worked well in most parts of the world, greater efforts are required to control sylvatic rabies transmitted by bats or other mammals, as occurs in Colombia. Since developing countries are the most affected by the disease at present, transdisciplinary commitment between human and veterinary sectors is necessary to fight against rabies virus transmission.

Elimination of human rabies in Goa, India through an integrated One Health approach

Dog-mediated rabies kills tens of thousands of people each year in India, representing one third of the estimated global rabies burden. Whilst the World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have set a target for global dog-mediated human rabies elimination by 2030, examples of large-scale dog vaccination programs demonstrating elimination remain limited in Africa and Asia. We describe the development of a data-driven rabies elimination program from 2013 to 2019 in Goa State, India, culminating in human rabies elimination and a 92% reduction in monthly canine rabies cases. Smartphone technology enabled systematic spatial direction of remote teams to vaccinate over 95,000 dogs at 70% vaccination coverage, and rabies education teams to reach 150,000 children annually. An estimated 2249 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were averted over the program period at 526 USD per DALY, making the intervention ‘very cost-effective’ by WHO definitions. This One Health program demonstrates that human rabies elimination is achievable at the state level in India.

The effects of geographical distributions of buildings and roads on the spatiotemporal spread of canine rabies: An individual-based modeling study.

Rabies is a fatal disease that has been a serious health concern, especially in developing countries. Although rabies is preventable by vaccination, the spread still occurs sporadically in many countries, including Thailand. Geographical structures, habitats, and behaviors of host populations are essential factors that may result in an enormous impact on the mechanism of propagation and persistence of the disease. To investigate the role of geographical structures on the transmission dynamics of canine rabies, we developed a stochastic individual-based model that integrates the exact configuration of buildings and roads. In our model, the spatial distribution of dogs was estimated based on the distribution of buildings, with roads considered to facilitate dog movement. Two contrasting areas with high- and low-risk of rabies transmission in Thailand, namely, Hatyai and Tepha districts, were chosen as study sites. Our modeling results indicated that the distinct geographical structures of buildings and roads in Hatyai and Tepha could contribute to the difference in the rabies transmission dynamics in these two areas. The high density of buildings and roads in Hatyai could facilitate more rabies transmission. We also investigated the impacts of rabies intervention, including reducing the dog population, restricting owned dog movement, and dog vaccination on the spread of canine rabies in these two areas. We found that reducing the dog population alone might not be sufficient for preventing rabies transmission in the high-risk area. Owned dog confinement could reduce more the likelihood of rabies transmission. Finally, a higher vaccination coverage may be required for controlling rabies transmission in the high-risk area compared to the low-risk area.

Rabies shows how scale of transmission can enable acute infections to persist at low prevalence.

How acute pathogens persist and what curtails their epidemic growth in the absence of acquired immunity remains unknown. Canine rabies is a fatal zoonosis that circulates endemically at low prevalence among domestic dogs in low- and middle-income countries. We traced rabies transmission in a population of 50,000 dogs in Tanzania from 2002 to 2016 and applied individual-based models to these spatially resolved data to investigate the mechanisms modulating transmission and the scale over which they operate. Although rabies prevalence never exceeded 0.15%, the best-fitting models demonstrated appreciable depletion of susceptible animals that occurred at local scales because of clusters of deaths and dogs already incubating infection. Individual variation in rabid dog behavior facilitated virus dispersal and cocirculation of virus lineages, enabling metapopulation persistence. These mechanisms have important implications for prediction and control of pathogens that circulate in spatially structured populations.

Genome Sequences of Five Indian Canine Rabies Virus Isolates Obtained Using Oxford Nanopore Technologies Sequencing.

ABSTRACTWe report five canine rabies virus genome sequences from India that were obtained from brain samples using Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing. The sequences will facilitate understanding of the evolution and transmission of rabies.