Current Status of Animal Rabies in Thailand.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Canine rabies remains a serious public health problem in Thailand. The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute (QSMI) is the principal rabies diagnostic center in central Thailand. The retrospective study of canine rabies cases submitted in 1992-1995 revealed that: (1) The prevalence of rabid dogs decreased, which was associated with an overall decrease in the number of animals examined. However, the proportion of FA positive dogs examined remains the same at approximately 50%. (2) The majority of rabies cases occurred in domestic dogs rather than stray dogs but the ratio of positive cases between domestic and stray animals remained the same. (3) More than 60% of domestic rabid dogs were below age one. Dogs at this age are thought to be more active and also most likely not adequately vaccinated. It should be noted that approximately 70% of rabid dogs were never vaccinated against rabies. -KEY WORDS: diagnosis of rabies, ecology of rabies, rabies, Thailand.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 59(6): 457-460, 1997 veterinarian and placed under observation for at least 14 days. Dead animals were autopsied and the total of six tissue samples were taken from the spinal cord and brain of each animal. These were placed on glass slides, stained with BBL anti-rabies globulin fluorescein labeled (Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems, 250 Schilling Circle, Cockeysville, MD 21030, U.S.A.) and examined under the fluorescent microscope. Fluorescent antibody negative samples were injected intracerebrally into three mice as "fail-safe" controls. Using these procedures, we experienced a false negative rate of 1 per 6,260 animal brains examined during the past three years. RESULTSThe total of 1,443 animals were examined for rabies at the QSMI during 1995. Figure 1 shows the number of animals examined in the laboratory and the number of positive cases for rabies. Those listed as "other animals" included 24 cats. Table 1 shows the incidence of rabies among owned and stray or community dogs during 1992-1995. The sex ratio of rabid dogs was 60% male and 32% female. Previous studies indicated that the overall sex ratio (male: female) among the general dog population in Bangkok was 1.7:1. The sex could not be determined in eight animals since only their heads were available for examination. The youngest rabies-positive dog was one month old and the oldest 12 years old (this dog was never vaccinated). The age distribution is shown in Fig. 2. It should be noted that 62% of rabid animals were below age one. Figure 3 shows that 70% of rabid dogs were never vaccinated. DISCUSSIONThe human population of Bangkok increased during the past decade and is now well over 10 million. Associated with this is an increase in the dog population. However,

Epidemiologic Trends of Rabies in Domestic Animals in Southern Thailand, 1994–2008

“…As reported, rabies vaccination is a protective factor and important for rabies control. 21,22 In our study, we demonstrated that the odds of being diagnosed rabid was 1.7 times higher for unvaccinated than vaccinated dogs. This finding supports the assertion that inadequate vaccination of dogs is a contributing reason for the ongoing epizootic of dog rabies in southern Thailand.…”

“…23 Interestingly, in a study of dog ecology and rabies in Mexicali, Mexico, dogs 3-11 months of age had a three times higher risk of being nonvaccinated than dogs ≥ 1 year of age. 24 Previous studies showed that owned dogs in Bangkok, Thailand 21 and Sao Paulo, Brazil 25 were more likely to have rabies than stray dogs. However, in this study, the odds of rabies were not significantly different between these two groups of dogs.…”

“…A previous study reported that the sex ratio of rabid dogs in Thailand was 60% male and 32% female. 21 Similarly in Mexico, 69% of the rabid animals during an epizootic were males. 27 However, sex was not a significant risk factor for dog rabies in the present study.…”

Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Thailand

“…In this urban form, dogs play an important part as the reservoir and transmitter of the disease to humans and other animals (10). Recently, vaccination of domestic dogs and rounding up of stray dogs has gradually reduced the incidence of rabies in Thailand.…”

Detection of Rabies Virus and its Pathological Changes in Brain of Buffaloes in Egypt

“…The admitted rabies infected buffaloes expressed different nervous signs with a history of dogs' biting in most examined buffaloes as the main source of infection which confirm the natural route of spreading RABV infection, while those expressed RABV infections without a history of biting by dogs might be infected by the biting of other wild carnivores as foxes. The wild carnivores might attack the buffaloes mostly reared near to the margins of the villages (Mitmoonpitak et al, 1997;Cistema et al, 2005). Although the appearance of nervous manifestations, the history of biting from street dogs in most recorded cases and the clinical observations are not characteristic and may differ greatly from one animal to another, as well, the atypical nature of the disease which is not easy to be predicted by clinical signs.…”