An exploratory study on the perceptions of rabies and ill-health causations and health seeking behaviours of school children and local communities in southern Bhutan.

BACKGROUND: The perception of illness and health-seeking behaviours, including rabies differ from one culture to another. Depending on the cultural setting of the society in which people live, the definition of the causal factors of illness may range from natural biological causes to supernational causes which greatly influence subsequent health-seeking behaviour. To ensure best health practices and plan effective health interventions for the control of dog-mediated-human rabies, we explored how school children and adult communities perceive and respond to illnesses, including rabies in southern Bhutan. METHODS: We collected quantitative data related to the causes of illness and health-seeking practices of school children using a questionnaire survey (QS). Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) with older members of communities (≥ 18 years) that work closely with school children. Descriptive analysis was performed for the quantitative data and thematic analysis was performed for the qualitative data. RESULTS: The participants during the FDGsand IDIshave linked the illnesses to past actions, spirits, energy channels, planetary movement, sorcery, black magic, food, physical or environmental factors, individual habits and social factors. The survey of the school children reported microorganisms (75%), past actions (16.8%), spirits (9.6%) and black magic (9.1%) as causal factors for illnesses. Health seeking behaviours reported by the participants included visiting hospitals, performing spiritual or religious rituals and local treatments. Similarly, school children also mentioned that illnesses can be treated by visiting hospitals (98%), performing rituals (59.1%), and seeking traditional treatments practices (18.8%). Both school children and adult members of the communities that we interviewed were well aware on the causes of rabies and need for allopathic treatments rather than seeking spiritual or local treatments. CONCLUSION: There is a need for the consideration of the socio-cultural context in the planning and implementation of health-related policies, including the rabies prevention programs in Bhutan, by involving traditional healers and religious entities with "One Health" public health sectors.

Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic test kit to the gold standard fluorescent antibody test for diagnosis of rabies in animals in Bhutan.

BACKGROUND: Rabies kills approximately 59,000 people each year worldwide. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of rabies is important for instituting rapid containment measures and for advising the exposed people for postexposure treatment. The application of a rapid diagnostic tests in the field can greatly enhance disease surveillance and diagnostic activities, especially in resource poor settings. In this study, a total of 179 brain tissue samples collected from different rabies suspect animal species (113 dogs, 50 cattle, 10 cats, 3 goats, 2 horses, and 1 bear) were selected and tested using both rapid immunochromatographic kit and the reference standard fluorescent antibody test (FAT). We evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of a rapid antigen detection test kit produced by BioNote, Inc. (Hwaseong-si, Korea) relative to a FAT for its fit-for-purpose for confirmation of clinical cases of rabies for early response and enhancing rabies surveillance. RESULTS: Among 179 samples examined in this study, there was a concordance in results by the rapid test and FAT in 115 positive samples and 54 negative samples. Test results were discordant in 10 samples which were positive by FAT, but negative (false negative) by rapid kit. The rapid test kit showed a sensitivity of 92% (95% CI: 85.9-95.6) and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 93.4-100) using FAT as the reference standard. The positive and negative predictive values were found to be 100% (95% CI:96.7-100) and 84.4% (95% CI: 73.6-91.3), respectively. Overall, there was 94.4% (95% CI: 90-96.9) test agreement between rapid test and FAT (Kappa value = 0.874) with a positive percent agreement and negative percent agreement of 92 and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding demonstrated that the rapid test kit (BioNote) can be used for rabies surveillance and confirming clinical case of rabies in animals for making rapid decisions particularly controlling rabies outbreaks in resource poor settings.

Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with bovine tuberculosis in cattle in Eastern Bhutan.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic zoonotic disease affecting cattle of all age groups including wild animals. It poses a significant threat to public health and high economic losses to dairy farmers. While the disease has been eradicated from most of the developed countries through extensive surveillance, testing and culling strategy, it is endemic in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East countries. Currently, there is limited research regarding the prevalence of bTB in cattle in Bhutan. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of bTB in cattle in six districts of eastern Bhutan. A two-stage probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling strategy was used to determine the number of animals from which serum samples needed to be collected in each district and sub-district. All farms and cattle for sampling were randomly selected from the data in the annual livestock census of 2020. The samples were tested using bTB ELISA test kit. The seroprevalence and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Logistic regression models were constructed to assess the influence of various individual animal and environmental risk factors (breed, age, sex, source of animal, body condition scores of animals, respiratory system status) associated with sero-positivity in animals. The study revealed an apparent seroprevalence of 2.57% (25/971 cattle; 95% CI:1.58-3.57), with an estimated true seroprevalence of 0.91% (95% CI: 0.0-2.81). However, none of the variables were found to be significantly associated with bTB seroprevalence in cattle. We recommend, further sampling and employment of confirmatory testing to fully ascertain the extent of bTB in the cattle herds in eastern Bhutan for prevention and control.

Human rabies encephalomyelitis in the background of rabies outbreak in animals in Gelephu, Bhutan, 2023: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Rabies continues to pose significant public health challenges in many developing countries including Bhutan. A probable case of rabies was admitted to our hospital and its reporting led to the uncovering of an outbreak in domestic and wild animals. We discuss the challenges in the diagnosis and management of rabies in a resource-limited setting. CASE PRESENTATION: A 35-year-old male presented with intermittent fever, bilateral lower limb weakness that was rapidly progressive, urinary incontinence with episodes of palpitations and sweating. He had sustained a Category III bite on the right lower thigh with four bite marks, inflicted by a stray dog. He had received post-exposure prophylaxis with intra-dermal anti-rabies vaccine. On initial examination, the patient was in distress but cooperative for the interview. He had pulse rate ranging from 60 to 100/min with episodes of diaphoresis and palpitations, but with normal capillary blood glucose. In the lower limb, the muscle power was zero with absent tendon reflexes in the lower limb and impaired abdominal reflex below T10 level. He had hyperaesthesia below T8, hydrophobia, aerophobia and photophobia. He had multiple spontaneous fasciculations in both the thighs and right deltoid and these later involved the intercostal muscles, neck and face muscles. He had altered sensorium and desaturation for which he required mechanical ventilation. Polymerase chain reaction for rabies virus was negative in cerebrospinal fluid and saliva. Rabies virus neutralizing antibody was negative in cerebrospinal fluid but had high titres in the serum. He received Human Rabies Immunoglobulin after admission. He was managed in the intensive care unit and died 23 days later. After this case was notified, a rapid response team was deployed in the field, and uncovered rabies outbreak in animals in the locality. CONCLUSIONS: This case called for a serious evaluation of the country's efforts in achieving zero rabies deaths by 2030. The management of this case identified several critical areas of context-specific interventions in Bhutan. There is also an urgent need to improve diagnostic capabilities at the national reference laboratory and enhance the technical competencies of healthcare workers in the management of dog bite cases.

Assessment of the rabies education among middle secondary school students of southeastern Bhutan.

Rabies is one of the most important zoonotic diseases that mostly affect children. We conducted a rabies education among 129 secondary school children (intervention group = 94 students, control group = 35 students) in two schools in southeast Bhutan and evaluated the effectiveness of the lesson by comparing the knowledge, perception and safety behaviour score about rabies before and after education. We also assessed the knowledge retention capacity of the students at three months post intervention. Our findings indicated that short rabies lesson significantly (P<0.001) improved the mean knowledge score from 19.98(±2.72) to 26.96(±2.24) in the intervention group. Similarly, mean scores for perception and safety behaviour improved significantly (P<0.001) from 10.77 (±1.89) to 13.95 (±1.36) and 9.809 (±1.85) to 12.97 (±1.54), respectively. Although the scores have reduced significantly (P<0.001) at three months post intervention, most of the rabies information was largely retained by the students. In control group, significant increase in mean scores were also observed for perception from 10.17 (±2.38) to 11.2 (±2.44) and safety behaviour from 9.14(±1.44) to 10.74 (±1.95) after 3 months of education. The finding demonstrate that a short rabies lesson is effective in improving knowledge, perceptions and understanding of dog bites safety behaviour among the school children. However, there is a need for a frequent awareness program, at least quarterly or half yearly. Rabies education should focus on critical points such as dog bites being the main source of rabies and the importance washing a dog/animal bite wound with soap and water, and visiting the hospital for medical advice following animal bites.

Knowledge and Perception of Rabies among School Children in Rabies Endemic Areas of South Bhutan.

Rabies is endemic in southern Bhutan and children are the frequent victims of dog bites. We surveyed the knowledge, attitude, and practices on rabies among school children in three schools located in southern Bhutan. A total of 701 students (57.9% female, 42.1% male) with an age range of 12-21 years (mean: 15 years) participated in the survey, of which 98.2% had heard about rabies. Most of the students demonstrated a good level of knowledge (59.7%) and a favorable perception towards rabies (57.7%). Multivariable logistic analysis revealed the relation between knowledge and the awareness campaign (OR:1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.1). Similarly, higher grades of students (OR:1.9, 95%CI: 1.3-2.9) and employed mothers of the students (OR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.0-2.7) were associated with more favorable perceptions. However, some knowledge gaps were identified in this study, such as students not being able to clearly mention the susceptible hosts of rabies, transmission routes, clinical signs, and prevention and control options. Therefore, regular awareness programs on rabies are necessary among school children in Bhutan.