Rabies in the Americas: 1998-2014

Abstract

Through national efforts and regional cooperation under the umbrella of the Regional Program for the Elimination of Rabies, dog and human rabies have decreased significantly in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries over the last three decades. To achieve this decline, LAC countries had to develop national plans, and consolidate capabilities such as regular mass dog vaccination, opportune post-exposure prophylaxis and sensitive surveillance. This paper presents longitudinal data for 21 LAC countries on dog vaccination, PEP and rabies surveillance collected from the biannual regional meeting for rabies directors from 1998–2014 and from the Regional Epidemiologic Surveillance System for Rabies (SIRVERA). Differences in human and dog rabies incidence rates and dog vaccination rates were shown between low, middle and high-income countries. At the peak, over 50 million dogs were vaccinated annually in national campaigns in the countries represented. The reported number of animal exposures remained fairly stable during the study period with an incidence rate ranging from 123 to 191 reported exposures per 100,000 people. On average, over 2 million doses of human vaccine were applied annually. In the most recent survey, only 37% of countries reported that they had sufficient financial resources to meet the program objectives. The data show a sufficient and sustained effort of the LAC countries in the area of dog vaccination and provide understanding of the baseline effort required to reduce dog-mediated rabies incidence.

Size, spatial and household distribution, and rabies vaccination coverage of the Brazilian owned‐dog population

“…The HDR is a popular index to estimate the size of dog populations and continues to be used for this purpose (Acosta‐Jamett et al., ; Freire de Carvalho et al, ). The problem is that, far from been a constant, the HDR is heterogeneous in Brazil and in other countries (Canatto et al, ; Castillo‐Neyra et al, ; Flores‐Ibarra & Estrella‐Valenzuela, ; Knobel et al, ; Serafini, Rosa, Guimaraes, De Morais, & Biondo, ; Trapp et al, ) and even small variations result in significant differences in dog population size and vaccination coverage (people working with rabies in Brazil and other Latin American countries often estimate vaccination coverages above 100% or even 200%; personal communication).…”

2018 international meeting of the Global Virus Network

“…Long-term, large-scale ORV programs of foxes has led to almost complete elimination of fox rabies in Western Europe and North America (Müller et al, 2015& Maki et al, 2018. However, RABV will continue to adapt and perpetuate within wildlife species, posing a serious health risk to domestic animals and humans (Freire de Carvalho et al, 2018). He discussed the challenges ahead of the rabies elimination programs, feasible for certain wild reservoir species, that warrants sustained political and financial support for the upcoming decades (Fooks et al, 2017).…”

Rabies surveillance in wild mammals in South of Brazil

“…In the South and Central America, Rabies lyssavirus (RABV)circulated primarily among dogs, but canine rabies has been controlled in most countries in the last decade following intense public vaccination campaigns (Batista et al, ; Freire de Carvalho et al, ). However, the circulation of RABV in wildlife, and particularly in bats, has now become a major concern for public health (Fisher, Streicker, & Schnell, ; Freire de Carvalho et al, ; Lee et al ,; Rupprecht et al, ).In the last decade, most human deaths in Brazil are attributed to spillover from the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus (Secretaria de Vigilancia em Saude & Ministerio da Saude, ) . Foxes (i.e., crab‐eating fox Cerdocyon tho us) and primates (i.e., marmoset Callithrix jacchus ) have also been identified as reservoirs of RABV variants (Antunes et al, ; Favoretto et al, ; Kotait, De, Maria, & Carrieri, ; Páez, Saad, Núñez, & Bóshell, ) and can transmit rabies to humans (Freire de Carvalho et al, ; Velasco‐villa et al, ).…”

“…Following transmission to susceptible individuals, usually by bites, infection causes a severe encephalitis which leads to the highest mortality rates associated with a virus (Batista, Franco, & Roehe, 2007;Rupprecht, Kuzmin, & Meslin, 2017). In the South and Central America, Rabies lyssavirus (RABV)circulated primarily among dogs, but canine rabies has been controlled in most countries in the last decade following intense public vaccination campaigns (Batista et al, 2007; Freire de Carvalho et al, 2018). However, the circulation of RABV in wildlife, and particularly in bats, has now become a major concern for public health (Fisher, Streicker, & Schnell, 2018;Freire de Carvalho et al, 2018;Lee et al 2012,;Rupprecht et al, 2017).In the last decade, most human deaths in Brazil are attributed to spillover from the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus (Secretaria de Vigilancia em Saude & Ministerio da Saude, 2019).…”

“…can transmit rabies to humans (Freire de Carvalho et al, 2018;Velascovilla et al, 2006). In addition, serological studies have shown evidence of exposure to RABV in the absence of clinical signs in several primates and marsupials species (Antunes et al, 2017;Araujo et al, 2014).…”