High rabies burden and low vaccination status among dogs inflicting bite in Addis Ababa: an urgent call for action.

INTRODUCTION: Rabies remains a global threat, killing approximately 60,000 people every year. In Ethiopia, dogs are the main reservoir of the disease. Animals also estimate the burden of the disease. METHODOLOGY: Data from 2016 to 2020 were extracted from a rabies cases recording book of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute. Proportions and trends over time were analyzed. Brain samples of dogs were diagnosed with a Fluorescent Anti Body test. RESULTS: A total of 6,001 dogs inflicting bites were brought to the laboratory. A high proportion of dogs 4,389 73.14% were not vaccinated. The total number of dogs brought to the laboratory was decreasing over the last five years. Among 1,216 dog brain samples examined 855 (70.3%) confirmed rabies. The proportion of rabies cases was increasing from 8.5% in 2016 and 32.6% in 2020. The highest rabies proportion (33.8%) was reported in 2018. Out of the total (2,156) dogs inflicting bites and observed for 10 days, only 468 (21.7%) of the observation report was tracked and reported. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high proportion of rabies in dogs inflicting bites in Addis Ababa. The findings are alarming with seven out of ten dogs diagnosed being infected with rabies. Only two dogs were vaccinated out of ten dogs inflicting bites. Rabies became a serious public health problem in the city that needs urgent health action from all sectors including the city administration.

Distribution of snake species and snakebites in hotspots of Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: In Sub-Saharan Africa, snakebites are a public health problem. In Ethiopia, clinical cases have been described, but little information exists on snakebites burden and its geographical distribution. The aim of this study was to document the spatial distribution of venomous snakes and snakebites in Ethiopia. METHODOLOGY: In a cross-sectional observational study, venomous snakes were collected during snake catching activities in six Ethiopian hotspot areas between April 2015 and September 2020. Species and habitat were described. In the hotspot areas, routine health information data on reported snakebites was collected in 78 districts and subsequently used to map annual incidence per district. RESULTS: A total of 333 snakes were collected and 14 species were identified. The most prevalent species were Bitis arietans, Bitis arietanus somalica, Echis pyramidum, known as vipers, and Naja pallida, known as cobra. The highest number of snakes (75) was observed in the Northwest and Eastern parts of Ethiopia, mostly in cultivation and man-made farm land, wooded and moist dry savanna. In each hotspot a wide variety of species was observed, although composition was different. The highest snakebite incidence overlapped with the high snakes densities in Northwest Ethiopia. The snakebite annual average incidence at district level was very heterogeneous and ranged from < 15 cases/100,000 inhabitants (44% of the districts) to 309.2 cases/100,000 inhabitants. CONCLUSIONS: Snake diversity and distribution, linked to high incidence of snakebites in the hotspots, suggests a close interconnection between human, animal and environmental systems and could inform the need for antivenoms per geographical locality.