Rabid Dogs Research Articles

Roles of traditional medicine and traditional healers for rabies prevention and potential impacts on post-exposure prophylaxis: A literature review.

IntroductionGlobally, traditional medicine is widely used to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses, including dog bites, and exposures that are risky for rabies. However, efficacy of most traditional remedies used for rabies prevention or treatment has not been demonstrated in controlled trials or proven in community-based surveys.MethodsSix databases were searched including the terms rabies, traditional treatment, traditional remedy, traditional therapy, traditional medicine, and medicinal treatment to review traditional remedies used in the prevention and treatment of rabies. In addition, published literature of rabies transmission dynamics was used to estimate statistical likelihood of dog bite victims developing rabies to provide clarity as to why traditional healers have a high apparent success rate when preventing death from rabies in victims bitten by suspected rabid dogs.ResultsLiterature review yielded 50 articles, including three controlled experiments, that described use of traditional remedies for rabies prevention and treatment. Traditional remedies for rabies ranged from plant- or animal-based products to spiritual rituals; however, only a few controlled mice trials were conducted, and none of these trials demonstrated efficacy in preventing or treating rabies. Risk of dying from rabies after a bite from a dog with unknown rabies status is low, 1.90% (0.05%-29.60%). Therefore, traditional healers had a 98.10% (70.40%-99.95%) apparent success rate in preventing death from suspected rabid dog bites despite inefficaciousness of herbal remedies.ConclusionThere was no universal plant species or route of administration that was consistently used for rabies prevention or treatment across countries. No traditional remedy was efficacious in the prevention or treatment of rabies in randomized controlled experiments. Understanding the cultural context under which traditional remedies are used may facilitate collaboration of traditional healers with the modern medical system to ensure timely and appropriate use of proven therapies for prevention and clinical management of rabies.

Household survey on owned dog population and rabies knowledge in selected municipalities in Bulacan, Philippines: A cross-sectional study.

Despite the effort to eradicate rabies in the Philippines, human rabies cases have not decreased in the past decade. Rabid dogs pose the most significant hazard in the countries with the highest burden of rabies, and 70% rabies vaccine coverage is recommended for dogs in high-risk areas. Ascertaining the owned dog population and community knowledge on rabies can help improve vaccine coverage and information campaigns. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in six randomly selected communities (five urban, one rural) in Central Luzon, Philippines. We first conducted the complete mapping of 9,173 households and then randomly selected 727 households. More than half (54.1%) of the households owned dogs (1.21 dogs/household). In the 727 households, we identified 878 owned dogs and 3256 humans. According to these results, the dog-to-human ratio was approximately 1:3.7. Only 8.8% of households reported a history of dog bite in 2019. Among dog-owning households, 31% reported that they allow their dogs to roam freely. Of the recorded dogs, 35.9% have never been vaccinated, and only 3.5% were spayed or castrated. Factors associated with lower rabies knowledge include (1) no education aOR: 0.30 (0.16-0.59), and (2) only primary school education aOR: 0.33 (0.22-0.49). In contrast, factors associated with higher knowledge include (1) owning a dog and not allowing them to roam freely aOR: 2.01 (1.41-2.87) and (2) owning a dog and allowing them to roam freely aOR: 1.84 (1.17-2.92), when compared to those with no dogs. We identified a larger dog population in the community than the usual estimates (1:10), suggesting that annual vaccine needs in the Philippines must be reassessed. Our survey shows a relatively good understanding of rabies; however, awareness of the concept of rabies as a disease, and how animals and humans can acquire it, is lacking.

Rabies virus spread in central and north-eastern regions of Ukraine

Annually, 30,000-45,000 cases of rabies in animals and humans are reported worldwide. The aim of the study was to present data on the incidence of rabies among humans and animals in central and north-eastern regions of Ukraine (Poltava and Sumy) between the years 2007 and 2020. The statistical data were obtained from the anti-epizootic measures division at the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine of the State Food and Consumer Service in the Poltava and Sumy regions of Ukraine. Between 2012 and 2020, the largest number of bite cases in the Poltava region were recorded in 2012 (4,234 cases), and the lowest in 2018 (1,951 cases). The vast majority of bites were caused by dogs and cats that had an owner. During the successive years, the number of rabies cases increased. Between 2017 and 2019, over 50% of rabies cases in the Sumy region occurred in domestic animals. Although combating rabies among dogs through vaccination, as well as extermination of homeless animals, may reduce the incidence of rabies in humans, rabies in dogs is still not uncommon in the Poltava and Sumy regions of Ukraine. Moreover, rabid dogs in these two regions still account for over 90% of rabies cases and 99% of deaths due to rabies among humans. The red fox was the leader in the incidence of rabies among wild animals between 2009 and 2019. In the Poltava region, the highest number of rabies cases occurred in 2017 (10 cases), whereas in the Sumy region the peak if infections was observed in 2010 (42 cases). Rabies in animals tended to decrease due to the oral immunization of free-ranging animals. It is difficult, however, to assess the overall global situation of rabies using data solely on human mortality. Rabies is not a purely human disease. It is rather a disease that occurs in wild and domestic animals, from which it may be transferred to humans. Therefore, a more accurate prediction of its impact should include an assessment of its prevalence in animal populations, especially pets, and the costs associated with preventing the spread of rabies from animals to humans. Effective measures for prevention and eradication of rabies, as well as better knowledge, are crucial to check further spread of the disease. Obligatory preventive measures should include vaccination of pets and oral immunization of red foxes.

Evaluating the Impact of Anthropogenic Factors on the Dissemination of Contemporary Cosmopolitan, Arctic, and Arctic-like Rabies Viruses.

Rabies is a globally prevalent viral zoonosis that causes 59,000 deaths per year and has important economic consequences. Most virus spread is associated with the migration of its primary hosts. Anthropogenic dissemination, mainly via the transportation of rabid dogs, shaped virus ecology a few hundred years ago and is responsible for several current outbreaks. A systematic analysis of aberrant long-distance events in the steppe and Arctic-like groups of rabies virus was performed using statistical (Bayesian) phylogeography and plots of genetic vs. geographic distances. The two approaches produced similar results but had some significant differences and complemented each other. No phylogeographic analysis could be performed for the Arctic group because polar foxes transfer the virus across the whole circumpolar region at high velocity, and there was no correlation between genetic and geographic distances in this virus group. In the Arctic-like group and the steppe subgroup of the cosmopolitan group, a significant number of known sequences (15–20%) was associated with rapid long-distance transfers, which mainly occurred within Eurasia. Some of these events have been described previously, while others have not been documented. Most of the recent long-distance transfers apparently did not result in establishing the introduced virus, but a few had important implications for the phylogeographic history of rabies. Thus, human-mediated long-distance transmission of the rabies virus remains a significant threat that needs to be addressed.

Rabies burden in Côte d'Ivoire

BackgroundIn Côte d'Ivoire, just as in the majority of developing countries, rabies cases are underestimated. The official data are based on passive surveillance studies which cannot provide true estimates. Therefore, the economic and health burden of rabies is underestimated.To be able to better estimate the true burden of rabies, this study looked at surveillance data of bite records and household survey. MethodologyThe data was collected from a cross-sectional survey of 8004 households, of which 4002 were in the Department of Bouaké and 4002 in the Department of San Pedro. Further data was collected from Human Rabies control centres and from the respective veterinary services. We estimate the burden of rabies through data from the bites surveillance records. Human deaths from rabies were estimated using a series of probability steps to determine the likelihood of clinical rabies in a person after being bitten by a suspected rabid dog. Monte Carlo simulations of a series of interconnected probabilities were used to estimate the rabies burden in the country. ResultsThe number of deaths from rabies was estimated at 637deaths per year [95% CI 442–849] and human mortality from rabies was estimated at 2.61 per 100′000 [95% CI 1.81–3.56], which represents 24–47 times more cases than the official data. Deaths due to rabies are responsible for 23,252 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) lost each year [95% CI 16,122–30,969]. The estimated annual cost of rabies is 40.15 million USD [95% CI 27.8–53.4]. Overall, 99% of the cost was due to premature deaths. The cost of post-exposure prophylaxis was estimated at 1.6 million USD and represented 1% of the overall cost of rabies. ConclusionThis study highlights the underreporting of rabies cases by the official health information system in Côte d'Ivoire and the annual financial losses related to rabies are equivalent to the estimated cost of the elimination of rabies by 2030. Thus, investing in the fight against in Côte d'Ivoire will be cost effective.

A Swear Word Detection System in SKPD Website Content of Bali Province Government

The website is one of the information service systems needed by the community to carry out various public service activities. It's just that it is necessary to do a word-checking process on the website to avoid swear words, especially on government service websites. Checking swear words on the website takes a long time, done by reading every website content that the admin will add. So we need a system that can check swear words on the website. The purpose of the research is to simplify detecting swear words on the SKPD website. In this study, a system was designed and built that can detect swear words when the admin adds and changes website content and validates criticism and suggestions that visitors have added by implementing text mining. This study uses the Nazief and Adriani algorithms for the stemming process and the Term Frequency algorithm for the weighting process. The test method used is accuracy measure. From the test results, the accuracy value is 88%, precision of 78.57%; recall of 100%; and f measure by 88%. The results obtained have not been maximized because the system has not been able to read the sentence structure, so that a word that should not be used as a swear word in a document/text becomes detected by the system as a swear word, for example, the word dog detected in the text of the news about rabid dogs.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward rabies in three provinces of Indonesia.

Background and Aim:Rabies is an important viral zoonotic disease that is mostly transmitted through the bite of a rabid dog. Despite serious efforts regarding its control, rabies is still endemic in many provinces of Indonesia. The study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to rabies in urban and rural areas in three provinces of Indonesia.Materials and Method:s: A total of 432 respondents of different age groups, educational levels, geographical areas, and occupations participated in this study. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire with online and offline modes to assess the KAP of rabies among the respondents. A series of Chi-square tests and frequency distribution analyses were performed to determine associations between response variables.Results:Of the 432 participants, 56.9% were aware of the clinical signs of rabies. Excepting for people at high risk of contracting the disease (e.g., veterinarians), most respondents (83.1%) were not vaccinated against rabies. Surprisingly, 79.4 % of those who were bitten by an infected dog did not seek medical care from the doctor and approximately 71.8% had poor knowledge of rabies control and vaccine campaigns. Of all respondents, 64% (p<0.05, odds ratio=1.63) were vaccinated after an infected dog bite. Similarly, 32% (p<0.05, odds ratio=1.59) were aware of surveys and vaccinations in their areas. In contrast, 20.7% (p<0.05, odds ratio=0.593) reported that rabid dogs were killed in their areas. The majority (89.60%) of the respondents were aware of the fact that rabies can cause death. Most of the respondents (93%) knew that rabies is caused by an infected dog bite. The overall levels of KAP among the respondents were good.Conclusion:The findings of the current study generally show that participants had good knowledge about clinical signs based on their frequency percentage, but lacked knowledge regarding medical treatment and surveys for awareness and vaccination of rabies. Overall, a significant (p<0.05, odds ratio>1) relationship was found among the KAP of participants. This depicts that the majority of the population is aware of rabies and factors involved in its transmission.

Knowledge of Rabies among Dog Bite Victims in Srinagar, Kashmir

Introduction: In Asia, rabies features a long history geological dating back to antiquity. For millennia, the disease had been thought-about an endemic for its prevalence. Rabies could be a serious public health concern, notably in Asia and the African continent. Methods: The present study was carried in Srinagar district. Regarding the knowledge of people, the interview schedule was formulated. As per Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), the city is divided into two divisions; four zones and 34 wards. To exploit the diversity of population response, all the four zones were considered for the present investigation. Results: Regarding the knowledge of the disease rabies only a few, 15 % knew its transmission method. Only 15% knew about the identification of rabid dog and they also knew about its signs and symptoms. Following a suspect bite majority, 52.50% claimed they would seek medical care after the bite. About 100 % were aware they would go to the hospital after the bite. Only a few, 20% knew about the application of first aid before reaching the hospital. Conclusion: The study showed that victims lacked a complete perception of rabies. Factors influencing little awareness included lower socioeconomic rank and education suggesting that the maximum menace of rabies is probable to fall on the susceptible sectors of society, particularly poor members with slight or no proper education. The lack of inclusive awareness might interpret into elevated mortality allied to rabies. There is a need for sensitization of people so that their information can be improved and their optimistic attitude could be translated into apt practices for prevention/control of rabies.

A shorter post-exposure prophylaxis regimen for rabies, Pakistan.

ObjectiveTo assess the cost and effectiveness of the two-site, 1-week, intradermal rabies post-exposure prophylaxis regimen recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018.MethodsWe compared the number of rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin ampoules consumed at The Indus Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan and their cost before and after implementing WHO’s 2018 recommendations. In 2017, patients with suspected rabies-infected bites were treated using the two-site, 4-week, Thai Red Cross regimen, which involved administering four rabies vaccine doses intradermally over 4 weeks and infiltrating immunoglobulin into serious wounds, with the remainder injected into a distant muscle. In 2018, patients received three vaccine doses intradermally over 1 week, with a calculated amount of immunoglobulin infiltrated into wounds only. Remaining immunoglobulin was saved for other patients. The survival of patients bitten by apparently rabid dogs was used as a surrogate for effectiveness.FindingsDespite treating 8.5% more patients in 2018 (5370 patients) than 2017 (4948 patients), 140 fewer ampoules of rabies vaccine and 436 fewer ampoules of rabies immunoglobulin were used, at a cost saving of 4202 United States dollars. Of 56 patients bitten by apparently rabid dogs, 50 were alive at 6-month follow-up. The remaining six patients could not be contacted but did not present to any hospital with rabies.ConclusionThe new regimen was more economical than the two-site, 4-week regimen and was equally effective. This regimen is recommended for preventing rabies in countries where the disease is endemic and rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin are in short supply.

Appraisal of dog bite cases in Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia Abia state – Nigeria

Dog bite cases pose a major public health threat in Nigeria and other nations of the world. Millions of people are bitten by dogs, and most cases are fatal when bitten by rabid dogs. This study evaluated dog bite cases in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. It is a retrospective study on the clinical records of dog bite patients managed between 2016 to 2018 at the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia. Out of 98 reported cases of dog bites, there was a higher incidence rate of (65.3%) among the male victims than females (37.7%). 19.4% of the cases were victims of less than 15 years of age. Lower limb (59.2%) was the major site of bite cases. 58.2% of the offending dogs were owned while 41.8% were stray dogs. Only 31.6% of offending dogs had up-to-date anti-rabies's vaccination. Clinic records showed that 52% of the patients werepresented within 24hrs of the incidence at the hospital. Use of herbal balms (48%) was the most pre-hospital treatment received by dog bite victims. 4 victims had confirmed rabies case. Wound sustained by victims included open wound, lacerations, bruises and avulsion. Treatment pattern was based on evaluated risk of exposure of victims. In conclusion, dog bite cases in this study occurred more in malesand adults with mostly owned dogs being involved in the reported cases. Most victims of dog bite cases at the Centre promptly presented their cases for medical consultation. Public awareness is required on the need to avoid provocative dog bites, prompt hospital visitation when bitten by a dog, and there is a need for dog owners to vaccinate their dogs annually against rabies.&#x0D; Keywords: Appraisal, Dog- bite, rabies,treatment-regimen, Umuahia

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2019.

To provide epidemiological information on animal and human cases of rabies occurring in the United States during 2019 and summaries of 2019 rabies surveillance for Canada and Mexico. All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the United States during 2019. State and territorial public health departments and USDA Wildlife Services provided data on animals submitted for rabies testing in the United States during 2019. Data were analyzed temporally and geographically to assess trends in domestic and wildlife rabies cases. During 2019, 53 jurisdictions submitted 97,523 animal samples for rabies testing, of which 94,770 (97.2%) had a conclusive (positive or negative) test result. Of these, 4,690 tested positive for rabies, representing a 5.3% decrease from the 4,951 cases reported in 2018. Texas (n = 565 [12.0%]), New York (391 [8.3%]), Virginia (385 [8.2%]), North Carolina (315 [6.7%]), California (276 [5.9%]), and Maryland (269 [5.7%]) together accounted for almost half of all animal rabies cases reported in 2019. Of the total reported rabid animals, 4,305 (91.8%) were wildlife, with raccoons (n = 1,545 [32.9%]), bats (1,387 [29.6%]), skunks (915 [19.5%]), and foxes (361 [7.7%]) as the primary species confirmed with rabies. Rabid cats (n = 245 [5.2%]) and dogs (66 [1.4%]) accounted for > 80% of rabies cases involving domestic animals in 2019. No human rabies cases were reported in 2019. The overall number of animal rabies cases decreased from 2018 to 2019. Laboratory diagnosis of rabies in animals is critical to ensure that human rabies postexposure prophylaxis is administered judiciously.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rabies reemergence in Latin America: The case of Arequipa, Peru.

In Latin America, there has been tremendous progress towards eliminating canine rabies. Major components of rabies elimination programs leading to these successes have been constant and regular surveillance for rabid dogs and uninterrupted yearly mass dog vaccination campaigns. Unfortunately, vital measures to control COVID-19 have had the negative trade-off of jeopardizing these rabies elimination and prevention activities. We aimed to assess the effect of interrupting canine rabies surveillance and mass dog vaccination campaigns on rabies trends. We built a deterministic compartment model of dog rabies dynamics to create a conceptual framework for how different disruptions may affect rabies virus transmission. We parameterized the model for conditions found in Arequipa, Peru, a city with active rabies virus transmission. We examined our results over a range of plausible values for R0 (1.36–2.0). Also, we prospectively evaluated surveillance data during the pandemic to detect temporal changes. Our model suggests that a decrease in canine vaccination coverage as well as decreased surveillance could lead to a sharp rise in canine rabies within months. These results were consistent over all plausible values of R0. Surveillance data from late 2020 and early 2021 confirms that in Arequipa, Peru, rabies cases are on an increasing trajectory. The rising rabies trends in Arequipa, if indicative to the region as whole, suggest that the achievements made in Latin America towards the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies may be in jeopardy.

Epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease. It is transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and dog bites are responsible for around 95% of human cases. The disease is almost always fatal after the onset of symptoms. It is an endemic and major public health problem in India with one-third of the global deaths reported from this country. Protocol: This systematic review aims to estimate the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India. Initially the existence of controlled descriptors in MeSH terms (such as 'Epidemiology', 'Rabies', 'Cost', 'Dog bite', 'Quality of Life', 'India' etc), and their synonyms (key words) was identified in MEDLINE, and were later combined with Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR' to develop a detailed search strategy. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles and abstracts and select the studies as per the inclusion criteria. The selected studies will be assessed for their quality and risk of bias. Data will be extracted using standardized data extraction tools and will be synthesized for analysis. Disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer. Discussion: This systematic review will be performed to critically examine relevant literature and report the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in Indian context. The findings will help in estimation of burden of the disease in India and expected to contribute in policy making and planning of the program and interventions in the country. Protocol registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD4202021326.

Current issues and gaps in the implementation of rabies prevention in Ukraine in recent decades

Ukraine remains the only country in Europe where rabies is widespread among animals and humans. Annually there are about 1,600 rabies cases in animals in Ukraine and sporadic cases in humans have been registered despite the conducting of preventive measures. Therefore, the aim of the study was to inspect the failures in rabies prevention, indicate the top reasons for human cases and highlights the risk of animal attacks in view of their species and geographical distribution in Ukraine during 1996–2020. The following archival state materials were used for analysis: from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and from the annual reports of oblast departments of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. In general, more than 84,000 people (187.4 per 100,000 of the population) were affected by bites or harmful contact with animals every year, among them, 2,155 people were victims of rabid animals. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was prescribed annually, on average, for 21,434 patients (25.5% of all victims). Most people were attacked by cats and dogs that had owners (71.5%). The frequency of the proportion of the risk of attacks by rabid dogs on humans was (1:124), from cats (1:25), wild animals (1:7), and farm animals (1:2), but the largest general proportion of animal attacks on people was from dogs – 838,635 attacks (77.7%). Thus, due to the permanently higher level of contact with people, attacks by dogs remains more dangerous. Geographically attacks on humans by domestic carnivores were observed most commonly in the east part of Ukraine due to the high urbanization of the region and the high density of the human population. A large number of attacks by foxes was observed in the west part of Ukraine due to the larger area of forests and fields. During the last 25 years, there have been 63 human rabies cases. The main sources of rabies were dogs (24 cases) and cats (22 cases). The main causes of development of rabies were: failure to receive the PEP due to the absence of a visit to a hospital after an attack of an animal (n = 38), failures in prescribing PEP (n = 15), failure of PEP (n = 10). In conclusion, the gaps in the control measures against rabies are the lack of agreed coordination of inter-sectoral links, the lack of significant efforts to raise public awareness and the lack of funding for prophylaxis programmes for humans and animals. Our future research will be aimed at modelling the transmission of rabies from the pet population to humans.

Epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India: a systematic review protocol

Background: Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease. It is transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and dog bites are responsible for around 95% of human cases. The disease is almost always fatal after the onset of symptoms. It is an endemic and major public health problem in India with one-third of the global deaths reported from this country. Protocol: This systematic review aims to estimate the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India. Initially the existence of controlled descriptors in MeSH terms (such as 'Epidemiology', 'Rabies', 'Cost', 'Dog bite', 'Quality of Life', 'India' etc), and their synonyms (key words) was identified in MEDLINE, and were later combined with Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR' to develop a detailed search strategy. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles and abstracts and select the studies as per the inclusion criteria. The selected studies will be assessed for their quality and risk of bias. Data will be extracted using standardized data extraction tools and will be synthesized for analysis. Disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer. Discussion: This systematic review will be performed to critically examine relevant literature and report the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in Indian context. The findings will help in estimation of burden of the disease in India and expected to contribute in policy making and planning of the program and interventions in the country. Protocol registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD4202021326

Findings from the initial Stepwise Approach to Rabies Elimination (SARE) Assessment in China, 2019.

In 2015, China and other member states of the United Nations adopted the goal of eliminating dog-mediated rabies by 2030. China has made substantial progress in reducing dog-mediated human rabies since peaking with more than 3,300 reported cases in 2007. To further improve coordination and planning, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) assessment in March 2019. Assessment goals included outlining progress and identifying activities critical for eliminating dog-mediated rabies. Participants representing national, provincial and local human and animal health sectors in China used the SARE assessment tool to answer 115 questions about the current dog-mediated rabies control and prevention programs in China. The established surveillance system for human rabies cases and availability of post-exposure prophylaxis were identified as strengths. Low dog vaccination coverage and limited laboratory confirmation of rabid dogs were identified gaps, resulting in an overall score of 1.5 on a scale of 0 to 5. Participants outlined steps to increase cross-sectoral information sharing, improve surveillance for dog rabies, increase dog vaccination coverage, and increase laboratory capacity to diagnose rabies at the provincial level. All assessment participants committed to strengthening cross-sector collaboration using a One Health approach to achieve dog-mediated human rabies elimination by 2030.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, Perception and Practices on Rabies Disease in the GA East Municipality, Ghana

Background: Rabies is one of the neglected tropical zoonotic diseases caused by a virus. It belongs to the Rhabdoviridae [1]. It is a disease that is commonly found in animals but can easily effect human [2]. Where there are animal reservoirs, rabies is commonly spread. The general objective of this study to evaluate differences in knowledge, attitude and perception about rabies, among the residence in Ga East.&#x0D; Methods: A cross-sectional study was used in this study using purposive sampling technique. Data was collected by interviewing study participants using OKD Collection and also STATA version14.2 was used for data analysis&#x0D; Results: A total of 475 respondents were involved in the study with 354 (74.53%) males and 121(25.47%) as females. Of this, majority of the participants (93.47%) own a dog against 6.53% who did not own a dog. Dog is own in the community basically for security purposes (77.25%). Few own dog for leisure. The study document less than 50% of the respondents [186 (39.16%)] resort to local drug stores drug store for first aid following a dog bit. Seeking veterinary attention (12.84%) and properly clearing of wound (8.84%) was not a common practice. Participants were of the opinion that tetanus vaccination should be done first (29.05%). Most of the participants have heard about rabies (96.42%) and showed various degree of knowledge on source of rabies, common animals associated with rabies, symptoms of rabies. Among some other practices, any identified rabid dog is killed as indicated by majority of the participants (52.63%). Most participants (71.58%) knew that rabies vaccination serves as preventive measures against rabies and further perceived all dogs must be vaccinated (38.32%). Of the total respondents, most (63.74%) never sent their dog for routine medical check-up nor vaccinated their dogs (70.95%).&#x0D; Conclusion: The study revered that dog owners do not provide adequate care for their dogs. In addition to low coverage of dog vaccination and human anti rabies vaccination in the community which poses a greater threat to the lives community, the potential for increased spread of the diseases is high due to inadequate level of knowledge, poor perceptions, and attitudes towards rabies.

Epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease. It is transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and dog bites are responsible for around 95% of human cases. The disease is almost fatal after the onset of symptoms. It is an endemic and major public health problem in India with one-third of the global deaths reported from this country. Protocol: This systematic review aims to estimate the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in India. Initially the existence of controlled descriptors in MeSH terms (such as 'Epidemiology', 'Rabies', 'Cost', 'Dog bite', 'Quality of Life', 'India' etc), and their synonyms (key words) was identified in MEDLINE, and were later combined with Boolean operators 'AND' and 'OR' to develop a detailed search strategy. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles and abstracts and select the studies as per the inclusion criteria. The selected studies will be assessed for their quality and risk of bias. Data will be extracted using standardized data extraction tools and will be synthesized for analysis. Disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion, or with a third reviewer. Discussion: This systematic review will be performed to critically examine relevant literature and report the epidemiological, humanistic and economic burden of dog-mediated rabies in Indian context. The findings will help in estimation of burden of the disease in India and expected to contribute in policy making and planning of the program and interventions in the country. Protocol registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD4202021326.

Immunohistochemical detection of virus antigen in the nasal planum of rabid dogs

The rabies virus is one of the most neurotropic of all viruses infecting mammals. During the terminal phases of infection, the virus spreads to peripheral tissues, including the skin. The external skin of the nose, called the nasal planum, is a sensory organ where numerous nerve bundles and terminal nerves are distributed. Therefore, the nasal planum is expected to serve as a postmortem diagnostic material. However, the distribution of rabies virus antigens in the nasal planum in rabid animals has not yet been studied. In this study, the nasal planum was obtained from 45 rabid dogs. In all rabid dogs, the viral antigen was detected in the peripheral nerve tissues, Merkel cells, and squamous cells. The viral antigen in the epidermis exhibited three patterns: first, a diffuse positive pattern from the basal layer to the squamous layer; second, a reticular positive pattern along the cell membrane in the squamous layer; and third, a basal layer pattern of the epidermis. In the dermis, viral antigens were detected more often in lamellated corpuscles just beneath the rete pegs. These results suggest that the nasal planum could serve as a useful alternative source for postmortem diagnosis in rabies endemic countries.

Portable Rabies Virus Sequencing in Canine Rabies Endemic Countries Using the Oxford Nanopore MinION.

As countries with endemic canine rabies progress towards elimination by 2030, it will become necessary to employ techniques to help plan, monitor, and confirm canine rabies elimination. Sequencing can provide critical information to inform control and vaccination strategies by identifying genetically distinct virus variants that may have different host reservoir species or geographic distributions. However, many rabies testing laboratories lack the resources or expertise for sequencing, especially in remote or rural areas where human rabies deaths are highest. We developed a low-cost, high throughput rabies virus sequencing method using the Oxford Nanopore MinION portable sequencer. A total of 259 sequences were generated from diverse rabies virus isolates in public health laboratories lacking rabies virus sequencing capacity in Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Vietnam. Phylogenetic analysis provided valuable insight into rabies virus diversity and distribution in these countries and identified a new rabies virus lineage in Kenya, the first published canine rabies virus sequence from Guatemala, evidence of rabies spread across an international border in Vietnam, and importation of a rabid dog into a state working to become rabies-free in India. Taken together, our evaluation highlights the MinION’s potential for low-cost, high volume sequencing of pathogens in locations with limited resources.