Canine Rabies inAustralia: A Review of Preparedness and Research Needs

Abstract

Australia is unique as a populated continent in that canine rabies is exotic, with only one likely incursion in 1867. This is despite the presence of a widespread free-ranging dog population, which includes the naturalized dingo, feral domestic dogs and dingo-dog cross-breeds. To Australia's immediate north, rabies has recently spread within the Indonesian archipelago, with outbreaks occurring in historically free islands to the east including Bali, Flores, Ambon and the Tanimbar Islands. Australia depends on strict quarantine protocols to prevent importation of a rabid animal, but the risk of illegal animal movements by fishing and recreational vessels circumventing quarantine remains. Predicting where rabies will enter Australia is important, but understanding dog population dynamics and interactions, including contact rates in and around human populations, is essential for rabies preparedness. The interactions among and between Australia's large populations of wild, free-roaming and restrained domestic dogs require quantification for rabies incursions to be detected and controlled. The imminent risk of rabies breaching Australian borders makes the development of disease spread models that will assist in the deployment of cost-effective surveillance, improve preventive strategies and guide disease management protocols vitally important. Here, we critically review Australia's preparedness for rabies, discuss prevailing assumptions and models, identify knowledge deficits in free-roaming dog ecology relating to rabies maintenance and speculate on the likely consequences of endemic rabies for Australia.

Roaming behaviour of dogs in four remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia: preliminary investigations

“…Of particular interest is the potential for community dogs to spread exotic zoonotic disease, such as rabies, should an incursion event occur. Australia is currently rabies‐free, but Sparkes et al proposed a number of incursion scenarios, including through northern Australia . Dürr and Ward suggest that free‐roaming dogs located in and around remote communities in the Northern Territory and Queensland would be likely contact points for rabies transmission .…”

“…Dürr and Ward suggest that free‐roaming dogs located in and around remote communities in the Northern Territory and Queensland would be likely contact points for rabies transmission . A lack of information regarding the roaming behaviours of these dogs has been identified as a gap in the preparedness of Australia for a rabies incursion . Quantification and mapping of Australian canine population characteristics such as HRs and UDs are required to identify high‐risk areas for establishment and spread of disease …”

Rabies Vaccination Targets for Stray Dog Populations

“…However, for example, our findings do underline concerns about rabies entering Australia’s northern communities where dog populations consist entirely of free-roaming dogs (30). There are typically no stray dogs in this population, but there are contacts with wild dogs (4). The insights we have presented here would predict that this mix of wild dogs and free-roaming domestic dogs could be highly vulnerable to a rabies incursion.…”

“…The main component of these programs is vaccination, where the long-held World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of a dog vaccination target of 70% (2, 3) is most often the aim. What we now increasingly appreciate is that differences in the local ecology of the dog population (4), and the dogs’ relationships with the humans they live with (5), can determine the outcome of a control program (6, 7). …”

Expert Opinion to Identify High‐Risk Entry Routes of Canine Rabies into Papua New Guinea

“…Outbreaks in other previously free countries – for example Malaysia and Taiwan demonstrate the transboundary nature of rabies (Huang et al., ). Both the proximity of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to canine‐rabies endemic countries in South‐East Asia and the recent spread of the disease in Indonesia towards PNG present a risk of incursion of canine rabies into the Oceanic region (Ward, ; Sparkes et al., ). The spread of canine rabies between islands in Indonesia is via rabies‐infected dogs, associated with movement of people for activities such as fishing (Susetya et al., ; Putra et al., ; Townsend et al., ).…”