Rabies in dogs, livestock and wildlife: a veterinary perspective.

While major progress has been made in the control of rabies in the Western Hemisphere, large parts of Europe and some parts of Asia, the disease continues to kill tens of thousands of people every year. Its highest burden is in resourcelimited countries in Asia and Africa, disproportionately affecting children and poor rural communities. Today, domesticated dogs are responsible for the vast majority of human rabies cases. In late 2015, rabies experts from around the world gathered at the Rabies Global Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, and launched the ambitious initiative to end deaths from dog-mediated human rabies by 2030. The most cost-effective and sustainable approach to achieve this goal is to eliminate the disease at source through mass dog vaccination. In this article, the role of and challenges faced by Veterinary Services in resourcelimited settings in implementing the dog vaccination strategy to reduce the human rabies burden are discussed, together with the role of wildlife in disease control and why the 'One Health' approach is indispensable on the path towards a dograbies- free future.

Malgré les progrès considérables accomplis en matière de lutte contre la rage dans l'hémisphère occidental, dans une grande partie de l'Europe et en certains endroits d'Asie, la maladie continue à faire plusieurs dizaines de milliers de victimes chaque année dans le monde. Ce sont les pays à faibles ressources d'Asie et d'Afrique qui sont les plus touchés, avec une majorité écrasante de victimes parmi les enfants et dans les communautés rurales pauvres. Aujourd'hui, les chiens domestiques sont de loin la principale cause des cas de rage humaine. En décembre 2015, des experts du monde entier réunis à Genève (Suisse) à l'occasion de la Conférence mondiale sur la rage intitulée « Élimination mondiale de la rage humaine transmise par les chiens : agissons maintenant ! ¼ ont lancé une initiative ambitieuse visant à mettre fin aux décès humains dus à la rage transmise par les chiens d'ici 2030. La méthode la plus efficace et durable pour atteindre cet objectif consiste à éliminer la maladie à sa source au moyen de la vaccination massive des chiens. Les auteurs examinent le rôle des Services vétérinaires et les difficultés auxquelles ceux-ci sont confrontés lorsqu'ils entreprennent d'appliquer une stratégie de vaccination des chiens destinée à réduire le fardeau de la rage humaine dans un contexte de ressources limitées. Ils évoquent également l'importance de prendre en compte la faune sauvage dans le cadre du contrôle de la rage et expliquent en quoi l'approche « Une seule santé ¼ est incontournable pour avancer vers l'objectif d'un monde indemne de rage canine.

Aunque la lucha antirrábica ha conocido avances muy sustanciales en el hemisferio occidental, grandes partes de Europa y ciertas zonas de Asia, la enfermedad sigue matando a decenas de miles de personas al año. La carga más elevada de rabia se da en países con escasos recursos de Asia y África, donde la enfermedad afecta desproporcionadamente a los niños y a las comunidades rurales pobres. A día de hoy, los perros domésticos son responsables de la inmensa mayoría de los casos de rabia humana. A finales de 2015, especialistas del mundo entero se dieron cita en Ginebra (Suiza) para celebrar la conferencia mundial titulada «Eliminación mundial de la rabia humana transmitida por perros. ¡Actuemos ahora!¼ y poner en marcha la ambiciosa iniciativa de acabar con las muertes por rabia transmitida por perros como muy tarde en 2030. Para cumplir este objetivo, el método más sostenible y más eficaz en relación con el costo consiste en eliminar la enfermedad en su foco de origen, procediendo para ello a vacunaciones masivas de perros. Los autores exponen la función de los Servicios Veterinarios y las dificultades que afrontan en situaciones de escasez de recursos a la hora de aplicar la estrategia de vacunación canina para reducir la carga de rabia humana, así como el papel de la fauna silvestre en el control de la enfermedad y la razón por la cual es indispensable aplicar los planteamientos de «Una sola salud¼ para avanzar hacia un futuro libre de rabia.

Factors associated with dog rabies immunisation status in Bamako, Mali.

We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Bamako, Mali, to determine for the first time the seroprevalence of rabies virus antibodies in the dog population and people's knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards the disease and its control. Antibody detection was done with the fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation (FAVN) test, with a positivity threshold of 0.25IU/ml. We visited 2956 households in 2010 and 2011 and found 379 dogs in 279 households. Data were collected on 279 dog-owning households, on 1017 non-dog-owning households and on 311 dogs. A serum or plasma sample was collected from 98 dogs. For 26 dogs we had sufficient data to describe the antibody decline over time after rabies vaccination using a quadratic regression. Ninety percent of interviewed persons (95% CI: 85%-91%) knew about rabies. The majority of interviewees knew that rabies is transmitted from dogs to humans, and some of the characteristic clinical signs seen in rabid dogs (change of behaviour, biting, salivation) could be listed by the majority. When asked how people behave regarding a rabid dog, killing the animal was the most frequent answer (>70%). Most (65% of the non-dog-owners and 81% of the dog-owners) were aware that vaccination of dogs can prevent rabies, but only a minority of dog-owners could answer correctly at what age the dog should get a first rabies vaccination (i.e. at 3 months). There was also strong consensus among dog-owners that it is better to protect their dog from becoming rabid by vaccinating it rather than needing to treat a bitten person. Forty-five percent (n=306; 95% CI 38%-52%) of dogs were reported as vaccinated against rabies at least once, but less than half of these (59/136) had a valid vaccination card. When asked for reasons for non-vaccination, cost was the most frequent reason at 31% (95% CI: 21%-43%), while general negligence was mentioned by 15% (95% CI: 10%-24%). Approximately one third of dog-owners would not pay for vaccination. To reach a threshold of 70% of vaccinated owned dogs, vaccination should not cost more than 0.2€ (100 FCFA). The seroprevalence of rabies virus antibodies in the examined dog population was low: 24% (n=98; 95% CI 15%-36%) with titres ≥0.25IU/ml and was 46% (n=39; 95% CI 29%-63%) when only including those reported as vaccinated by their owners. A seroprevalence of 59% (n=18; 95% CI 33%-80%) was reached if the analysis included only dogs with a valid vaccination certificate. Interestingly 4/22 dogs showed titres ≥0.25IU/ml despite being reported as unvaccinated. The Rabisin® vaccine showed generally higher IU titres than the Dog Vac Rabia® vaccine. All animals after booster vaccination had titres ≥0.25IU/ml which was not the case in primo-vaccinated animals. For the Rabisin® vaccine, a Kaplan Meier estimate suggested that to maintain an antibody titre of ≥0.25IU/ml for 75% of owned dogs, revaccination should be done after not more than 2.5 years. This work contributes vital information towards planning an effective dog rabies control programme for the district of Bamako.

First report of Echinococcus granulosus (genotype G6) in a dog in Bamako, Mali.

Cystic echinococcosis is one of the most widespread and important helminthic zoonoses, caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. However, to date there is little information about the disease in West Africa. Faecal and fur samples from 193 dogs, the main final hosts, were collected in 2010 and 2011 in Bamako, Mali. Taeniid eggs were found microscopically in 28/118 (24%) and 80/223 (36%) faecal and fur samples, respectively. One faecal and one fur sample from the same dog were positive for E. granulosus s. l. DNA. In the remaining 27 faecal (96%) and 77 fur samples (96%) only Taenia DNA was detected. Three microscopically positive fur samples were negative by PCR. Sequence analysis of part of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 gene identified the parasite as E. granulosus (genotype G6; Echinococcus canadensis). This is the first study to focus on the final host of E. granulosus s. l. in Mali and the first report of E. canadensis in Mali.