Canine rabies in Belford Roxo City, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a case report

Abstract

Rabies is a highly lethal disease and is considered one of the most important zoonoses worldwide. In Brazil, the rabies cycle in domestic animals is under control. However, there is feedback from the wildlife cycle as many bats are present in the cities and rural areas of the country. This paper reports a case of a dog receiving veterinary assistance that presented with misbehavior and other unusual signs. After clinical evaluation by two veterinarians and a period of hospitalization to perform tests and treatment, the dog died, and the Municipal Health Department was contacted due to the suspicion of rabies. After laboratory testing and sample analysis, the diagnosis of rabies was confirmed. This case demonstrates the importance of veterinarians’ qualifications in performing clinical and laboratory diagnoses, such as their knowledge concerning surveillance measures and preventive steps before and after exposure. Reinforcing the significance of maintaining vaccination coverage for rabies and promoting public and private vaccination campaigns in areas that lack vaccination campaigns are useful.

Survey on sanitary practices and knowledge about infectious diseases among equine owners in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

“…The main infectious diseases (Figure 2) known by the interviewed owners were rabies (90.39%), tetanus (87.74%), glanders (84.10%), equine infectious anemia (79.47%), babesiosis (74.50%), strangles (51.32%), and leptospirosis (50.00%). The main diseases mentioned by owners are those commonly reported in the national literature (Coelho et al, 2022;De Faria et al, 2022;Ferreira et al, 2021;Melo & Ferreira, 2022b). However, other diseases for which clinical cases have already been reported in Brazil or antibodies circulating in different regions, such as equine herpes virus (Estima-Silva et al, 2019), equine encephalitis (Nunes et al, 2021;Diniz et al, 2022), and West Nile virus, are little known or totally unknown to owners.…”