Assessment of risk of possible exposure to rabies among processors and consumers of dog meat in Zaria and Kafanchan, Kaduna state, Nigeria.

Canine rabies is endemic in Nigeria. Some of the dogs slaughtered for human consumption may be infected with rabies virus, thus exposing handlers of raw dog meat to the disease since the virus may be present in the nerves in the meat. A cross-sectional study was designed and a structured questionnaire was designed and administered to a convenience sample of 160 processors and consumers (100 from Zaria and 60 from Kafanchan), by face to face interview at the slaughter sites or dog meat sale points. The questionnaire sought information on demographic characteristics of the respondents, rabies knowledge, attitude and actions the respondents would take if exposure occurs. Associations between demographic variables and categorized knowledge, attitude or practice scores were assessed using x2 analysis. The relationship between non-categorized scores was assessed using multiple regression analysis. Also, 154 brain samples from slaughtered dogs (74 from Zaria and 80 from Kafanchan) were checked for rabies antigen using direct fluorescent antibody test. Of the 160 respondents, 49 (30.6%) were involved in the slaughtering and sale of dog meat while 111(69.4%) were involved in handling and consumption of processed dog meat. Only 123(76.9%) knew that dogs are common source of rabies in Nigeria and 105(65.6%) knew that rabies affect humans. Also 110(68.8%) did not have adequate knowledge of the clinical signs of rabies. The level of knowledge, having positive attitudes and knowing acceptable practices were directly proportional to the level of education. Respondents from Kafanchan had higher level of knowledge and more positive attitudes towards rabies than those from Zaria. There were significant correlations between knowledge and attitude scores (r=0.49) and between knowledge and practice scores (r=0.43) at p<0.001. Rabies antigen was detected in the brain of 6 (3.9%) of the slaughtered dogs. The findings indicate that processors and consumers of dog meat are deficient in the knowledge of rabies. There is therefore a need for educational programmes targeted at this high risk group to increase their level of knowledge and reduce the risk of exposure.

Soroprevalência da infecçäo pelo vírus herpes humano 6 em Pernambuco / Seroprevalence of human herpes virus 6 infection in Pernambuco

A seroprevalência da infecçäo pelo vírus herpes humano 6(VHH-6) foi investigada em 526 brasileiros e 250 japoneses e descendentes residentes no Recife e regiöes vizinhas no Nordeste do brasil. Um total de 776 soros de indivíduos foram examinados para pesquisa de anticorpos IgG pela técnica de imunofluorescência anti-complemento. O percentual de soropositividade entre os dois grupos foi muito próximo: 73,3por cento para os brasileiros oriundos da regiäo e 77,2 por cento para os de ascendência Japonesa. Nas duas populaçöes estudadas as mulheres mostraram índices de positividade discretamente mais altos que os homens. Estes índices foram significativamente mais altos em indivíduos considerados de nível sócio econômico mais baixo. A alta prevalência de anticorpos anti-VHH-6 entre crianças indica que a infecçäo por este vírus ocorre muito cedo nesta regiäo. Análise comparativa mostra näo haver associaçäo entre infecçäo pelo citomegavirus (CMV) e VHH-6