Assessment of human rabies at Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases (Government Fever Hospital) - Five year study

Kalyani, D.; Shankar, K

doi:10.5455/jmas.242763

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Dog bite surveys have been used to report on the epidemiology of dog bites, to determine the knowledge and practices (including adherence) for rabies PEP and to provide data for the estimation of human rabies cases. 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 In South Africa, active transmission cycles of the rabies virus in domestic dogs have been reported in the mid-20th century. 26 The history of dog rabies control in South Africa is characterised by intermittent success and also failures resulting in outbreaks and consequently also human cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dog bite study in a dog rabies-affected area in South Africa

Weyer¹,

Roux

Kajese

et al. 2020

Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Rabies is an untreatable and highly fatal viral zoonosis. Despite the ability to control and prevent the disease, it is estimated that one person dies of rabies every 10 minutes in developing countries. However, the true burden of the disease remains undefined in most developing countries because of a lack of systematic surveillance. Dog bite data obtained from healthcare facilities where dog bite victims seek medical care may provide an additional source of information that can be used to inform the burden of disease and identify points for interventions for improved delivery of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent the disease.Methods: A descriptive epidemiological study was conducted using data obtained from dog bite registers and patient case files at a healthcare facility for a two year period (2015-2017).Results: The study reported frequency, demographics, source, geographic and temporal distribution of bite cases reported to a hospital serving a rabies-affected community. In addition, the post-exposure management of dog bite cases at this facility is described.Conclusion: Dog bites was not an infrequently reported at the healthcare facility, with up to 29 cases reported in a month during the study period. The affected population was defined and it is motivated that this information is useful for targeted health interventions. Findings related to the delivery of PEP may also be used to direct training and re-training of healthcare workers for improved delivery of PEP.

show abstract