Morphological identification of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting donkeys (Equus asinus) in Maputo Province, Mozambique.

Donkeys (Equus asinus) are rustic animals, but in Africa's poorest regions, they can present multiple health problems, including tick infestation. The study's objective was to determine the species composition of ticks that infest donkeys in Maputo Province (Mozambique). Ticks were collected in five conveniently selected southern districts of Maputo Province (Moamba, Matutuíne, Marracuene, Boane, and Matola) and were identified to species level using a stereoscopic microscope with the aid of dichotomous identification keys. In total, 500 ticks were collected from all 88 selected donkeys. Three genera of ticks were identified, namely Rhipicephalus (97.2%; 486/500), Amblyomma (2.2%; 11/500), and Hyalomma (0.6%; 3/500). Seven species were identified, of which Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi with 50.4% (252/500) was the most prevalent, followed by Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (27.4%; 137/500), Rhipicephalus turanicus (11.6; 10/500), Rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus (6.8; 20/500), Amblyomma hebraeum (2.2%; 11/500), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (1%; 5/500) and Hyalomma truncatum (0.6%; 3/500). Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi occurred in all locations, whereas Hyalomma truncatum occurred only in the Boane district. Males were the most prevalent (67.2%; 336/500). The study revealed that donkeys in Maputo Province were infested with seven tick species of which R. evertsi evertsi was the main species.

Knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP) and control of rabies among community households and health practitioners at the human-wildlife interface in Limpopo National Park, Massingir District, Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease that kills more than 26,000 people each year in Africa. In Mozambique, poverty and inadequate surveillance result in gross underreporting and ineffective control of the disease in animals and people. Little is known of the role of human attitudes and behaviour in prevention or control of rabies, thus this study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices amongst selected households and health practitioners in one affected area, the Limpopo National Park (LNP), Massingir district. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 233 households in eight villages in LNP and among 42 health practitioners from eight health facilities in Massingir district between 2016 and 2018. Consenting household representatives aged 18 years or over were purposively selected. A KAP survey was administered to obtain information on dog ownership and knowledge of rabies, host species affected, modes of transmission, symptoms, recommended treatment and preventive methods. Similar to household study participants, health practitioners were purposively selected and completed the questionnaire during the investigators' visit. The questionnaire sought information on knowledge of rabies, management of bite wounds, vaccination sites and schedules of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. Descriptive and inferential data analyses were performed using SPSS software version 18.0. RESULTS: Approximately twenty per cent (18.9%; 95% CI: 14.3-24.3) and 13.3% (95% CI: 9.4-18.1) of households had good knowledge and practices of rabies, respectively. For health practitioners, only 16.7% (95% CI: 7.5-31.9) had good knowledge, whilst 33.3% (95% CI: 20.0-49.7) adopted adequate attitudes/practices towards the disease. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, both households and health practitioners displayed poor levels of knowledge and adopted bad attitudes and practices towards rabies. The former, had more gaps in their attitudes and practices towards the disease. Village location and education level (P < .05) and similarly, sex and occupation, were found to be statistically associated with good knowledge of rabies among households as compared to HPs. Overall, a lack of community-based education and professional retraining courses contribute significantly to poor awareness of rabies in the LNP of Mozambique. Enhancing public health knowledge should consequently reduce dog-mediated human rabies deaths in this country.

Rabies Virus Seroprevalence among Dogs in Limpopo National Park and the Phylogenetic Analyses of Rabies Viruses in Mozambique.

Rabies is considered a neglected disease among many developing Asian and African countries, including Mozambique, where its re-emergence is often attributed to low dog parenteral vaccination coverage. The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to assess the level of antibodies against rabies virus in dogs (n = 418) in Limpopo National Park (LNP), and (2) to genetically characterise selected rabies viruses from brain tissue samples collected in 2017 and 2018. To meet the first objective, we used the BioProTM Rabies blocking ELISA antibody kit, and the results were expressed as the percentage of blocking (%PB). Dog sera with PB ≥ 40% were considered positive for antibodies to rabies virus, whereas sera with PB < 40% were negative. Just under ninety percent (89.2%; n = 373) of dogs were seronegative, and the rest (10.8%; n = 45) had detectable levels of rabies virus-specific antibodies. All eight brain tissue samples were positive for rabies virus antigen using a direct fluorescent antibody test and amplified in a quantitative real-time PCR, but only five (n = 4 from dogs and n = 1 from a cat) were amplified in a conventional reverse-transcription PCR targeting partial regions of the nucleoprotein (N) and the glycoprotein (G) genes. All samples were successfully sequenced. Phylogenetically, the rabies viruses were all of dog origin and were very closely related to each other (Africa 1b rabies virus lineage). Furthermore, the sequences had a common progenitor with other rabies viruses from southern Africa, confirming the transboundary nature of rabies and the pivotal role of dogs in maintaining rabies cycles. The study demonstrates the principal application of the BioProTM rabies ELISA antibody for the detection of anti-lyssavirus-specific antibodies in the serum samples of dogs, and most importantly, it highlights the low levels of antibodies against rabies virus in this dog population.