Rabies awareness and dog ownership among rural northern and southern Chadian communities—Analysis of a community-based, cross-sectional household survey

Mbilo, Céline; Léchenne, Monique; Hattendorf, Jan; Madjadinan, Alladoumngar; Anyiam, Franziska; Zinsstag, Jakob

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2016.06.003

Cited by 28 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Our study was consistent with previous findings in Tanzania, which reported more dogs in mainland compared to island and coastal areas [ 9 , 13 ]. However, our overall human/dog ratio estimate of 20.7:1 was higher than previous studies in Africa, which ranged from 3:1 to 15:1 [ 6 , 9 , 15 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. This suggests that human/dog ratios extrapolated from household or school-based surveys could be unreliable when extrapolated to district or national level.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 96%

Estimating the Size of Dog Populations in Tanzania to Inform Rabies Control

Sambo

Hampson

Changalucha

et al. 2018

Veterinary Sciences

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Estimates of dog population sizes are a prerequisite for delivering effective canine rabies control. However, dog population sizes are generally unknown in most rabies-endemic areas. Several approaches have been used to estimate dog populations but without rigorous evaluation. We compare post-vaccination transects, household surveys, and school-based surveys to determine which most precisely estimates dog population sizes. These methods were implemented across 28 districts in southeast Tanzania, in conjunction with mass dog vaccinations, covering a range of settings, livelihoods, and religious backgrounds. Transects were the most precise method, revealing highly variable patterns of dog ownership, with human/dog ratios ranging from 12.4:1 to 181.3:1 across districts. Both household and school-based surveys generated imprecise and, sometimes, inaccurate estimates, due to small sample sizes in relation to the heterogeneity in patterns of dog ownership. Transect data were subsequently used to develop a predictive model for estimating dog populations in districts lacking transect data. We predicted a dog population of 2,316,000 (95% CI 1,573,000–3,122,000) in Tanzania and an average human/dog ratio of 20.7:1. Our modelling approach has the potential to be applied to predicting dog population sizes in other areas where mass dog vaccinations are planned, given census and livelihood data. Furthermore, we recommend post-vaccination transects as a rapid and effective method to refine dog population estimates across large geographic areas and to guide dog vaccination programmes in settings with mostly free roaming dog populations.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 96%

Estimating the Size of Dog Populations in Tanzania to Inform Rabies Control

Sambo

Hampson

Changalucha

et al. 2018

Veterinary Sciences

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“…It is likely that boys, which have more interaction with dogs and are more likely to take up responsibilities relevant to maintaining the health of dogs, might result in them knowing more about dog welfare, diseases and risks relating to interacting with them. Lastly, religion was included in the model as a potential explanatory variable as it was hypothesised that Muslim children, who do not traditionally keep dogs [ 37 , 38 ] and may therefore know less about dog welfare needs, would have lower baseline knowledge. Nevertheless, the model showed no such difference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A rabies lesson improves rabies knowledge amongst primary school children in Zomba, Malawi

Bailey¹,

Gamble²,

Gibson

et al. 2018

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Rabies is an important neglected disease, which kills around 59,000 people a year. Over a third of these deaths are in children less than 15 years of age. Almost all human rabies deaths in Africa and Asia are due to bites from infected dogs. Despite the high efficacy of current rabies vaccines, awareness about rabies preventive healthcare is often low in endemic areas. It is therefore common for educational initiatives to be conducted in conjunction with other rabies control activities such as mass dog vaccination, however there are few examples where the efficacy of education activities has been assessed. Here, primary school children in Zomba, Malawi, were given a lesson on rabies biology and preventive healthcare. Subsequently, a mass dog vaccination programme was delivered in the same region. Knowledge and attitudes towards rabies were assessed by a questionnaire before the lesson, immediately after the lesson and 9 weeks later to assess the impact the lesson had on school children’s knowledge and attitudes. This assessment was also undertaken in children who were exposed to the mass dog vaccination programme but did not receive the lesson. Knowledge of rabies and how to be safe around dogs increased following the lesson (both p<0.001), and knowledge remained higher than baseline 9 weeks after the lesson (both p<0.001). Knowledge of rabies and how to be safe around dogs was greater amongst school children who had received the lesson compared to school children who had not received the lesson, but had been exposed to a rabies vaccination campaign in their community (both p<0.001) indicating that the lesson itself was critical in improving knowledge. In summary, we have shown that a short, focused classroom-based lesson on rabies can improve short and medium-term rabies knowledge and attitudes of Malawian schoolchildren.

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“…Our reported numbers for the bite incidence are conservative. Not all victims present to a health facility, as many use traditional forms of treatment [ 25 ]. In addition, this study only covered about one-third of the facilities in N’Djaména.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of a Participatory and Integrated One Health Approach for Rabies Control: The Case of N’Djaména, Chad

Léchenne

Mindekem²,

Madjadinan³

et al. 2017

TropicalMed

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This study compares data on animal rabies cases from the Chadian national rabies laboratory, hosted at the Insitut de Recherche en Elevage pour le Developpement (IRED), with bite case reporting from health facilities. The data collection accompanied a mass dog vaccination intervention over two years in N’Djaména, Chad. This allowed for a comparison of the dynamics of the incidence of animal rabies cases, human bite exposure incidence and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) demand during a dog rabies elimination attempt. Following the mass vaccination, the monthly animal rabies incidence dropped from 1.1/10,000 dogs, as observed prior to the campaign in 2012, to 0.061/10,000 dogs in 2014. However, the PEP demand was found to be largely unaffected. The suspicion of the rabies exposure as reported by health personnel in most cases did not reflect the status of the biting animal but rather the severity of the bite wound, resulting in inappropriate PEP recommendations. In addition, the levels of reporting dead or killed animals to the rabies laboratory was found to be very low. These results reveal a profound lack of communication between health facilities and veterinary structures and the absence of an integrated bite case management (IBCM) approach. Improved communication between human health and veterinary workers is imperative to prevent human rabies deaths through the appropriate use of PEP and to further translate success in animal rabies control into cost savings for the public health sector through a lower PEP demand. Improved training of health and veterinary personnel and the sensitisation of the public are needed to achieve good IBCM practice, to increase the rate of diagnostic testing, to provide adequate and timely PEP, and to reduce the wastage of scarce vaccine resources.

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Rabies awareness and dog ownership among rural northern and southern Chadian communities—Analysis of a community-based, cross-sectional household survey

Cited by 28 publications

References 27 publications

Estimating the Size of Dog Populations in Tanzania to Inform Rabies Control

Estimating the Size of Dog Populations in Tanzania to Inform Rabies Control

A rabies lesson improves rabies knowledge amongst primary school children in Zomba, Malawi

The Importance of a Participatory and Integrated One Health Approach for Rabies Control: The Case of N’Djaména, Chad

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