Prevalence of antibody against rabies among confined, free-roaming and stray dogs in a transit city of Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of anti-glycoprotein antibodies against rabies virus is studied in the sera of confined, free-roaming and stray dogs in Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara State, Nigeria. A quantitative indirect enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (i-ELISA) was used to detect rabies virus anti-glycoprotein antibodies in sera from 116 confined, 61 free-roaming, and 13 stray dogs. The sera were collected between June and December 2008 from apparently healthy dogs. Of these 190 dogs, 81 (42.6%), consisting of 57 confined (49.1%), 23 free-roaming (37.7%) and 1 stray (7.7%), had antibody titres that exceeded the positive threshold of 0.5 equivalent units (eu)/ml against rabies, while 109 (57.4%) presented titres that were below the threshold. Prevalence of rabies anti-glycoprotein antibody was higher in the confined dogs compared to free-roaming and stray dogs. Our results indicated low anti-rabies sero-prevalence (42.6%) in the dog population of Ilorin, a transit city that lies between northern and southern Nigeria. This is the first community-based prevalence report on the anti-rabies serological profile of dogs in Nigeria. The need for primary and booster mass vaccination of dogs and the impact of these findings on rabies control in Nigeria are discussed.