Incidence and Mortality from a Neglected Tropical Disease (Rabies) in 28 African Countries

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Rabies, a zoonotic disease, is one of the deadliest and most serious threats to public health as it has an almost 100 % case fatality rate. The global estimated mortality of the virus is between 40,000 to 70,000 deaths annually with most of the death occurring in the developing countries of Africa and Asia. The objective of this study was to present the incidence and mortality rates from rabies in 28 African countries from 2005 to 2018. Secondary data were obtained from the World Organization for Animal Health Database. The data from 2005 to 2018 were used, as this was the period with available data in the database. The data were analysed using SPSS version 25 and other descriptive statistical tools. The highest combined rabies incidence and mortality in the time range (2005—2018) was 1601 in 2006, while the lowest was 157 in 2005. Just five countries (Angola, Central African Republic, Kenya, Mozambique and Senegal) had 65 % of the rabies cases and mortality. Notably, the data on the incidence and mortality were 100 % similar, as all of the cases of rabies in the 28 African countries within 2005—2018 resulted in death. Therefore, more work should be devoted to research on rabies prevention and cure. Toward that goal, practices and policies should be implemented to enable the acquisition of accurate and consistent rabies data.</jats:p>

Monkeypox: A Neglected Viral Zoonotic Disease

“…Other strategies that help elimination of other prior infectious diseases can be adopted. Furthermore, more epidemiological studies should be conducted to study the prevalence, incidence, morbidity and mortality of monkeypox virus across years in Africa [39]. Low-and-middle-income countries should also pioneer and invest in research to detect possible new viral strains of the disease.…”

Reimagining One Health in Africa: a strategy to ending re‐emerging infections and anti‐microbial resistance

“…4 Also, we do not know much about how to effectively translate the One Health vision from the global summits to Africa's academic institutions; hence, there are fewer interdisciplinary studies and a low level of awareness on this concept in Africa. Undoubtedly, under-development of the surveillance system, poor reporting of animal diseases and inadequate infrastructure for laboratory diagnosis in the animal health sector in Africa due to chronic under-investment and resource allocation to research has contributed to this dearth of data, 5,6 while a shortage of research leaders in Africa 7 has contributed to the lack of effective articulation of the One Health vision at the continental, national and sub-national levels.…”

Rabies mortality and morbidity associated with animal bites in Africa: a case for integrated rabies disease surveillance, prevention and control: a scoping review

“…In a global survey conducted in rabies-endemic countries, 49 of the 54 African countries were rated as moderate to high risk for human rabies, while 16 of the 23 countries that responded to the survey had inadequate surveillance systems. 12 56 …”

“…73 The WHO meeting in Geneva in 2018 on ‘Moving Progress towards Rabies Elimination’ pointed out that political engagement is a key factor with governments providing leadership role in the coordination of elimination strategies. 12 The global collection of data on deaths from any neglected disease is a huge challenge, and early attempts to collate data for human deaths from canine rabies were no exception. 74 Due to the lack of regular reporting of rabies cases to the WHO from many member states, the RabNet Database was closed down in 2011.…”

“…Due to the lack of laboratory confirmation, sporadic epidemiological surveillance and unreported clinical cases in developing countries, current mortality estimates almost certainly under-represent the true incidence of human rabies deaths 4 8–10. Rabies is responsible for an estimated 21 000–25 000 deaths annually in Africa 4 11 12 Figure 1. shows a map illustrating rabies distribution in 32 African countries considering rabies outbreaks in animals, cases and deaths in humans 13.…”