Assessing the effect of a canine surgical-neutering educational programme on the knowledge and confidence of Indian veterinary participants.

India has a large, free-roaming dog population, encompassing both owned and stray dogs. Canine surgical neutering is often a central component of dog population management and rabies control initiatives. The provision of practical, surgical training opportunities remains a major challenge for veterinary educational establishments worldwide to ensure competency in this routine procedure. A 12-day educational programme, focusing on surgical neutering skills, was developed to address this need. A questionnaire comprising 26 questions covering surgical and clinical topics, and a self-assessment of confidence in undertaking five common surgical procedures, was completed immediately before and after finishing the programme. A total of 296 participants attended, with 228 achieving the inclusion criteria for the study. Total knowledge scores increased significantly after the training programme (mean score pre-18.94, 95% CI 18.13-19.74; post-28.11, 95% CI 27.44-28.77, p < 0.05) with improvements seen in all categories (surgical principles, anaesthesia, antibiotic use and wound management). After accounting for other participants' characteristics, scores increased, on average, by 9 points after training. Being female was associated with significantly higher overall scores, while compared to younger and older age groups, those aged 25-34 were associated with lower overall scores. Amongst those with post-graduate qualifications, overall scores increased with age. Furthermore, there was an increase in self-rated confidence by participants in undertaking all five procedures. This study demonstrates that a targeted training programme can improve veterinary participants' knowledge and confidence in canine surgical neutering and may provide an effective way to develop surgical expertise amongst veterinarians engaged in dog population management initiatives.

Corrigendum: Electronic application for rabies management improves surveillance, data quality, and investigator experience in Haiti.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1052349.].

First study on molecular detection of three major canine tick-borne pathogens in subclinically infected dogs in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Canine tick-borne pathogens (CTBPs) are an important cause of morbidity in dogs in Thailand. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of three CTBPs in clinically normal, owned dogs to understand the risk for the general canine population. We also examined sex, age, tick infestation, and packed cell volume (PCV) of the animals in association with active infection of the CTBPs. Materials and Methods: A total of 139 dogs were included in the study. Blood samples were collected for thin blood smear, PCV and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the association between individual factors and CTBP infection status determined by PCR. In addition, sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen's kappa were calculated to assess the utility of routine blood smear. Results: The PCR results showed that 31 dogs (22.3%) were infected with at least one of the three pathogens. The occurrence rate for Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, and Hepatozoon canis was 2.2% (3/139), 18.7% (24/139), and 2.8% (4/139), respectively. There were two cases of coinfection with A. platys and E. canis. The univariate analyses did not yield any associations between recorded variables and the active infection. Microscopic examination showed good sensitivity and agreement only for H. canis (Sn: 75%, 95% confidence interval: 24.9-98.7, k=0.85). Conclusion: Our findings confirmed the endemicity of the CTBPs in owned canine population in the study site. In-depth epidemiological investigation would be warranted to elucidate environmental risk factors for CTBP infection.

Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free-roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi.

Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease that causes around 59,000 deaths per year globally. In Africa, rabies virus is mostly maintained in populations of free-roaming domestic dogs (FRDD) that are predominantly owned. Characterizing the roaming behavior of FRDD can provide relevant information to understand disease spread and inform prevention and control interventions. To estimate the home range (HR) of FRDD and identify predictors of HR size, we studied 168 dogs in seven different areas of Blantyre city, Malawi, tracking them with GPS collars for 1-4 days. The median core HR (HR50) of FRDD in Blantyre city was 0.2 ha (range: 0.08-3.95), while the median extended HR (HR95) was 2.14 ha (range: 0.52-23.19). Multivariable linear regression models were built to identify predictors of HR size. Males presented larger HR95 than females. Dogs living in houses with a higher number of adults had smaller HR95, while those living in houses with higher number of children had larger HR95. Animals that received products of animal origin in their diets had larger HR95, and only in the case of females, animals living in low-income areas had larger HR50 and HR95. In contrast, whether male dogs were castrated or not was not found to be associated with HR size. The results of this study may help inform rabies control and prevention interventions in Blantyre city, such as designing risk-based surveillance activities or rabies vaccination campaigns targeting certain FRDD subpopulations. Our findings can also be used in rabies awareness campaigns, particularly to illustrate the close relationship between children and their dogs.

Review of Oral Rabies Vaccination of Dogs and Its Application in India.

Oral rabies vaccines (ORVs) have been in use to successfully control rabies in wildlife since 1978 across Europe and the USA. This review focuses on the potential and need for the use of ORVs in free-roaming dogs to control dog-transmitted rabies in India. Iterative work to improve ORVs over the past four decades has resulted in vaccines that have high safety profiles whilst generating a consistent protective immune response to the rabies virus. The available evidence for safety and efficacy of modern ORVs in dogs and the broad and outspoken support from prominent global public health institutions for their use provides confidence to national authorities considering their use in rabies-endemic regions. India is estimated to have the largest rabies burden of any country and, whilst considerable progress has been made to increase access to human rabies prophylaxis, examples of high-output mass dog vaccination campaigns to eliminate the virus at the source remain limited. Efficiently accessing a large proportion of the dog population through parenteral methods is a considerable challenge due to the large, evasive stray dog population in many settings. Existing parenteral approaches require large skilled dog-catching teams to reach these dogs, which present financial, operational and logistical limitations to achieve 70% dog vaccination coverage in urban settings in a short duration. ORV presents the potential to accelerate the development of approaches to eliminate rabies across large areas of the South Asia region. Here we review the use of ORVs in wildlife and dogs, with specific consideration of the India setting. We also present the results of a risk analysis for a hypothetical campaign using ORV for the vaccination of dogs in an Indian state.

Sharing the Load by One Health: Integrating Canine Rabies Vaccination With Bovine Foot-and-Mouth Vaccination Program and Community Public Health Services in Rural Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India.

Background: India carries the largest national burden for rabies globally. Coordinating large-scale canine rabies elimination programs is challenging, particularly in rural areas, where the majority of human rabies deaths occur. This study evaluated the feasibility of combining canine rabies vaccination with pre-existing animal-health interventions or public health programs in a rural area of India. Materials and Methods: Canine rabies vaccination teams collaborated with a bi-annual bovine foot-and-mouth vaccination program coordinated by the Animal Husbandry Department (AH-collaboration) and with a village health program by the Public Health Department (PH-collaboration) in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, to vaccinate dogs during the implementation of these government-led health initiatives. Results: A total of 251 dogs were vaccinated over 7 days during the AH-collaboration, and 1083 dogs were vaccinated over 15 days during the PH-collaboration. The AH-collaboration achieved a vaccination coverage of 76% based on same-time sighting survey, and 58% based on post-vaccination survey. The PH-collaboration achieved vaccination coverage of 79% based on the same-time survey and 83% based on the post-vaccination survey. Conclusions: The integration of mass dog vaccination into existing government sector initiatives may facilitate the scaling up of canine rabies vaccination campaigns.

Every Dog Has Its Data: Evaluation of a Technology-Aided Canine Rabies Vaccination Campaign to Implement a Microplanning Approach.

Background: Robust dog vaccination coverage is the primary way to eliminate canine rabies. Haiti conducts annual canine mass vaccination campaigns, but still has the most human deaths in the Latin American and Caribbean region. We conducted an evaluation of dog vaccination methods in Haiti to determine if more intensive, data-driven vaccination methods, using smartphones for data reporting and geo-communication, could increase vaccination coverage to a level capable of disrupting rabies virus transmission. Methods: Two cities were designated into "Traditional" and "Technology-aided" vaccination areas. Traditional areas utilized historical methods of vaccination staff management, whereas Technology-aided areas used smartphone-supported spatial coordination and management of vaccination teams. Smartphones enabled real time two-way geo-communication between campaign managers and vaccinators. Campaign managers provided geographic instruction to vaccinators by assigning mapped daily vaccination boundaries displayed on phone handsets, whilst vaccinators uploaded spatial data of dogs vaccinated for review by the campaign manager to inform assignment of subsequent vaccination zones. The methods were evaluated for vaccination effort, coverage, and cost. Results: A total of 11,420 dogs were vaccinated during the 14-day campaign. The technology-aided approach achieved 80% estimated vaccination coverage as compared to 44% in traditional areas. Daily vaccination rate was higher in Traditional areas (41.7 vaccinations per team-day) compared to in technology-aided areas (26.8) but resulted in significantly lower vaccination coverages. The cost per dog vaccinated increased exponentially with the associated vaccination coverage, with a cost of $1.86 to achieve 25%, $2.51 for 50% coverage, and $3.19 for 70% coverage. Conclusions: Traditional vaccination methods failed to achieve sufficiently high vaccination coverages needed to interrupt sustained rabies virus transmission, whilst the technology-aided approach increased coverage above this critical threshold. Over successive campaigns, this difference is likely to represent the success or failure of the intervention in eliminating the rabies virus. Technology-aided vaccination should be considered in resource limited settings where rabies has not been controlled by Traditional vaccination methods. The use of technology to direct health care workers based on near-real-time spatial data from the field has myriad potential applications in other vaccination and public health initiatives.

Using data-driven approaches to improve delivery of animal health care interventions for public health.

Rabies kills ∼60,000 people per year. Annual vaccination of at least 70% of dogs has been shown to eliminate rabies in both human and canine populations. However, delivery of large-scale mass dog vaccination campaigns remains a challenge in many rabies-endemic countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the vast majority of dogs are owned, mass vaccination campaigns have typically depended on a combination of static point (SP) and door-to-door (D2D) approaches since SP-only campaigns often fail to achieve 70% vaccination coverage. However, D2D approaches are expensive, labor-intensive, and logistically challenging, raising the need to develop approaches that increase attendance at SPs. Here, we report a real-time, data-driven approach to improve efficiency of an urban dog vaccination campaign. Historically, we vaccinated ∼35,000 dogs in Blantyre city, Malawi, every year over a 20-d period each year using combined fixed SP (FSP) and D2D approaches. To enhance cost effectiveness, we used our historical vaccination dataset to define the barriers to FSP attendance. Guided by these insights, we redesigned our vaccination campaign by increasing the number of FSPs and eliminating the expensive and labor-intensive D2D component. Combined with roaming SPs, whose locations were defined through the real-time analysis of vaccination coverage data, this approach resulted in the vaccination of near-identical numbers of dogs in only 11 d. This approach has the potential to act as a template for successful and sustainable future urban SP-only dog vaccination campaigns.

Factors associated with mobile phone ownership and potential use for rabies vaccination campaigns in southern Malawi.

BACKGROUND: Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease, which causes an estimated 59 000 human deaths globally every year. The vast majority of human rabies cases are attributable to bites from infected domestic dogs and consequently control of rabies in the dog population through mass vaccination campaigns is considered the most effective method of eliminating the disease. Achieving the WHO target of 70% vaccination coverage has proven challenging in low-resource settings such as Sub Saharan Africa, and lack of public awareness about rabies vaccination campaigns is a major barrier to their success. In this study we surveyed communities in three districts in Southern Malawi to assess the extent of and socio-economic factors associated with mobile phone ownership and explore the attitudes of communities towards the use of short message service (SMS) to inform them of upcoming rabies vaccination clinics. METHODS: This study was carried out between 1 October-3 December 2018 during the post-vaccination assessment of the annual dog rabies campaign in Blantyre, Zomba and Chiradzulu districts, Malawi. 1882 questionnaires were administered to households in 90 vaccination zones. The surveys gathered data on mobile phone ownership and use, and barriers to mobile phone access. A multivariable regression model was used to understand factors related to mobile phone ownership. RESULTS: Most survey respondents owned or had use of a mobile phone, however there was evidence of an inequality of access, with higher education level, living in Blantyre district and being male positively associated with mobile phone ownership. The principal barrier to mobile phone ownership was the cost of the phone itself. Basic feature phones were most common and few owned smartphones. SMS was commonly used and the main reason for not using SMS was illiteracy. Attitudes to receiving SMS reminders about future rabies vaccination campaigns were positive. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed a majority of those surveyed have the use of a mobile phone and most mobile phone owners indicated they would like to receive SMS messages about future rabies vaccination campaigns. This study provides insight into the feasibility of distributing information about rabies vaccination campaigns using mobile phones in Malawi.

Reviewing Solutions of Scale for Canine Rabies Elimination in India.

Canine rabies elimination can be achieved through mass vaccination of the dog population, as advocated by the WHO, OIE and FAO under the 'United Against Rabies' initiative. Many countries in which canine rabies is endemic are exploring methods to access dogs for vaccination, campaign structures and approaches to resource mobilization. Reviewing aspects that fostered success in rabies elimination campaigns elsewhere, as well as examples of largescale resource mobilization, such as that seen in the global initiative to eliminate poliomyelitis, may help to guide the planning of sustainable, scalable methods for mass dog vaccination. Elimination of rabies from the majority of Latin America took over 30 years, with years of operational trial and error before a particular approach gained the broad support of decision makers, governments and funders to enable widespread implementation. The endeavour to eliminate polio now enters its final stages; however, there are many transferrable lessons to adopt from the past 32 years of global scale-up. Additionally, there is a need to support operational research, which explores the practicalities of mass dog vaccination roll-out and what are likely to be feasible solutions at scale. This article reviews the processes that supported the scale-up of these interventions, discusses pragmatic considerations of campaign duration and work-force size and finally provides an examples hypothetical resource requirements for implementing mass dog vaccination at scale in Indian cities, with a view to supporting the planning of pilot campaigns from which expanded efforts can grow.

Implementation of a mass canine rabies vaccination campaign in both rural and urban regions in southern Malawi.

Rabies is a devastating zoonotic disease causing nearly 60,000 deaths globally each year. The disease causes Malawi an economic loss of 13 million USD and kills almost 500 people annually. Domestic dogs are the main reservoir for rabies and vaccinating over 70% of the dog population is the most efficient method to reduce its incidence in both humans and canines. However, achieving such coverages is often difficult and depend on many geospatial factors. Rural and pastoral regions are considered difficult to vaccinate efficiently due to low dog densities, and reports of campaigns spanning large areas containing vastly different communities are lacking. This study describes a mass canine vaccination campaign covering rural and urban regions in southern Malawi. The campaign achieved an average vaccination coverage of 83.4% across 3 districts, and vaccinated over 89,000 dogs through a combined static point and door-to-door effort. A dog population of 107,574 dogs was estimated (dog:human ratio of 1:23). The canine population was found to be almost completely owned (99.2%) and mostly kept for security purposes (82.7%). The dogs were mainly adults, males, and not neutered. Regression analysis identified education level and proportion of young dogs as the only factors influencing (positively and negatively, respectively) whether vaccination coverage over 70% was achieved in a region, independently of variables such as population density or poverty. A second regression analysis was performed predicting absolute vaccination coverage. While education level and the proportion of confined dogs were associated with positive vaccination coverage, higher proportions of young animals and female dogs were associated with a decrease in coverage. This study confirms the feasibility of homogeneously vaccinating over 70% of the dogs in a large area including rural and urban communities. These findings can inform the logistics of future campaigns and might be used as a template to facilitate high-number, high-coverage vaccination campaigns to other regions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Prevalence of skin wounds in working donkeys in Bukombe, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Preventable wounds are a common welfare issue in working donkeys in many countries. In the Bukombe District of Tanzania, there are estimated to be 3000 working donkeys, used primarily to transport loads for direct income generation. For historical reasons, oxen-yoke carts are used; their design is inappropriate for donkeys and results in serious neck wounds. The project aim was to assess the prevalence and nature of wounds in working donkeys. METHODS: In November 2018, 148 donkeys owned by 48 owners were examined, and data were collected. RESULTS: The study revealed that one or more wounds were present in 56.1% of the population and yoke-related, dorsal neck wounds comprised 79.5% of these. These wounds ranged in surface area from 1 cm2 to 300 cm2. Clinically, 96.6% of all wound types were superficial and the majority of these (51.1%) were granulating. CONCLUSION: These data will enable the future evaluation of targeted interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of these specific wounds.

Assessment of an Educational Intervention on the Knowledge and Attitudes of Indian National Veterinarians to Animal Welfare and Euthanasia.

The teaching of animal welfare in Indian veterinary education is limited. Current knowledge and attitudes to animal welfare and euthanasia, and the effect of a targeted educational intervention, were assessed in 84 Indian national and 49 non-Indian veterinarians attending a 2-week training course run by the Worldwide Veterinary Service in Tamil Nadu. A pre-intervention questionnaire, comprising knowledge and attitude questions on animal welfare and ethical issues, was completed. Fifteen students were then retained as a control group. The intervention group was exposed to a predesigned lecture and case studies (day 6). At the end of the course (day 12), another identical questionnaire was completed. Initially, there was no difference in knowledge of the control or intervention groups of Indian participants. Overall knowledge scores were lower in Indian participants compared with non-Indian participants (p < 0.05). Both groups' scores increased after the course (p < 0.05), with the Indian participants improving the most. Indian participants' attitudes were supportive of animal welfare and euthanasia prior to the intervention. Improvements in scores, with some reaching significance (p < 0.05), were observed post-intervention. Non-Indian participants' attitudes were more supportive of animal welfare and euthanasia with strongly agree/strongly disagree chosen more frequently than Indian responses. Both groups' self-assessment of their understanding of these topics improved post-intervention (p < 0.01). No prominent differences were found in questionnaire responses in the control cohort. This study shows that a targeted educational intervention impacts on Indian veterinarians' knowledge and attitudes toward animal welfare and euthanasia, and is relevant to organizations aiming to improve animal welfare standards in India.

Development of a high number, high coverage dog rabies vaccination programme in Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND: Rabies is estimated to cause 59,000 deaths and economic losses of US$8.6 billion every year. Despite several years of rabies surveillance and awareness programmes, increased availability of post-exposure prophylaxis vaccinations and dog population control, the disease still remains prevalent in Sri Lanka. This study reports the roll-out of a high number, high coverage canine rabies vaccination campaign in Sri Lanka, providing estimates for the vaccination coverage achieved, analysing the local dog demographics, and identifying barriers of attendance to static vaccination clinics. METHODS: A mass dog vaccination campaign was undertaken in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The campaign was composed of static point and door-to-door vaccination stages, with a final survey of vaccination coverage. A large volume of data on the distribution, health, and signalment of vaccinated dogs was collected through a mobile phone application. A logistic regression model was developed to investigate which socio-spatial and dog-related factors influenced attendance of owners to static vaccination points. RESULTS: The campaign vaccinated over 7800 dogs achieving a vaccination coverage of 75.8%. A dog:human ratio of 1:17 was estimated. Most dogs were owned, and the dog population was mostly male, adult, and non-sterilized. Unawareness, unavailability and handling problems were the most common reasons given by owners to explain failure to attend a static vaccination point. The regression analysis showed that increasing distance to a static point, in addition to young age and poor health of the dog, were associated with a decrease in the likelihood of attendance to a static vaccination points. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the feasibility of high number, high coverage vaccination campaigns in Sri Lanka. The information on dog ecology and barriers of attendance to static point vaccination clinics will facilitate development of future vaccination campaigns.

Development of a Non-Meat-Based, Mass Producible and Effective Bait for Oral Vaccination of Dogs against Rabies in Goa State, India.

Introduction: To achieve the global goal of canine-mediated human rabies elimination by 2030 there is an urgent need to scale-up mass dog vaccination activities in regions with large dog populations that are difficult to access; a common situation in much of India. Oral rabies vaccination may enable the vaccination of free-roaming dogs that are inaccessible to parenteral vaccination, and is considered a promising complementary measure to parenteral mass dog vaccination campaigns. WHO and OIE have published detailed minimum requirements for rabies vaccines and baits to be used for this purpose, requiring that baits must not only be well-accepted by the target population but must also efficiently release the vaccine in the oral cavity. For oral rabies vaccination approaches to be successful, it is necessary to develop baits which have a high uptake by the target population, are culturally accepted and amenable to mass production. The aim of this study was to compare the interest and uptake rates of meat-based and an egg-based prototype bait constructs by free roaming dogs in Goa, India. Methods: Three teams randomly distributed two prototype baits; an egg-flavoured bait and a commercial meat dog food (gravy) flavoured bait. The outcomes of consumption were recorded and compared between baits and dog variables. Results: A total of 209 egg-bait and 195 gravy-bait distributions were recorded and analysed. No difference (p = 0.99) was found in the percentage of dogs interested in the baits when offered. However, significantly more dogs consumed the egg-bait than the gravy-bait; 77.5% versus 68.7% (p = 0.04). The release of the blue-dyed water inside the sachet in the oral cavity of the animals was significant higher in the dogs consuming an egg-bait compared to the gravy-bait (73.4% versus 56.7%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The egg-based bait had a high uptake amongst free roaming dogs and also enabled efficient release of the vaccine in the oral cavity, whilst also avoiding culturally relevant materials of bovine or porcine meat products.

Randomised trial of perioperative tramadol for canine sterilisation pain management.

Surgical sterilisation to manage free-roaming dog populations is widely used in many countries. However, few studies have examined optimal postoperative pain management regimens at low-resource, high-throughput veterinary clinics. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of two intravenous analgesic regimens, preoperative administration of meloxicam and tramadol, or meloxicam alone, in free-roaming dogs undergoing sterilisation. A total of 125 dogs were included, with 64 dogs in the meloxicam-tramadol arm and 61 dogs in the meloxicam-only arm in a non-inferiority study design. Pain levels in sterilisation surgery patients were assessed at four time points after surgery using the Colorado State University Canine Acute Pain Scale, a Visual Analogue Scale and a modified version of the Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale - Short Form. Non-inferiority was supported for each of the main scoring outcomes using non-inferiority margins of 0.5, 5 and 0.8, respectively. One dog from the meloxicam-tramadol group and four dogs in the meloxicam-only arm required rescue analgesia, with no difference between groups (P=0.21).The study demonstrated that meloxicam was effective in controlling postoperative pain in a high proportion of dogs. The addition of tramadol alongside meloxicam treatment was not found to be of clinical benefit.

Evaluation of an Immunochromatographic Assay as a Canine Rabies Surveillance Tool in Goa, India.

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal. More than 95% of the human rabies cases in India are attributed to exposure to rabid dogs. This study evaluated the utility of a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFA) (Anigen Rapid Rabies Ag Test Kit, Bionote, Hwaseong-si, Korea) for rapid post mortem diagnosis of rabies in dogs. Brain tissue was collected from 202 animals that were screened through the Government of Goa rabies surveillance system. The brain tissue samples were obtained from 188 dogs, nine cats, three bovines, one jackal and one monkey. In addition, 10 dogs that died due to trauma from road accidents were included as negative controls for the study. The diagnostic performance of LFA was evaluated using results from direct fluorescence antibody test (dFT); the current gold standard post mortem test for rabies infection. Three samples were removed from the analysis as they were autolysed and not fit for testing by dFT. Of the 209 samples tested, 117 tested positive by LFA and 92 tested negative, while 121 tested positive by dFT and 88 tested negative. Estimates of LFA sensitivity and specificity were 0.96 (95% CI 0.91-0.99) and 0.99 (95% CI 0.94-1.00), respectively. The LFA is a simple and low-cost assay that aids in the rapid diagnosis of rabies in the field without the need for expensive laboratory equipment or technical expertise. This study found that Bionote LFA has potential as a screening tool in rabies endemic countries.

Reproducibility of the mark-resight method to assess vaccination coverage in free-roaming dogs.

The mark-resight methodology is a widely used tool to assess both population size and vaccination coverage of free-roaming dogs. Evaluating coverage is often critical to determine the progress and impact of vaccination interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility of the mark-resight method during a rabies vaccination campaign. A total of 90 areas in Goa, India, were surveyed on two occasions following a vaccination campaign, during which vaccinated dogs were marked. The estimated vaccination coverage for both confined and free-roaming dogs in the study area after a first round of vaccination was 68.9% (95% CI, 66.7-71.0%). The number of dogs counted in each survey, as well as the proportion of marked dogs, were the main outcomes recorded. Linear and mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the effect of survey order, surveyor, time of day, days between surveys, and weather on the outcomes between repeated surveys. Fewer dogs were likely to be counted in afternoon surveys compared to morning surveys (19.2% fewer dogs, 95%CI 7.5-31.9%) and a 17.2% (95%CI 3.6-32.7%) higher proportion of marked dogs was associated with the repeated survey compared to the first survey. Increased variation of the marked percentage between surveys was associated with using different surveyors (8.3%, 95%CI 0.4-16.2). This study demonstrated that external or personnel factors can influence the number of dogs counted and the estimated vaccination coverage of individual survey areas. Regular staff training, to ensure equal effort and quality of survey techniques between surveyors, could help standardise survey outcomes.

Sociodemographic factors which predict low private rabies vaccination coverage in dogs in Blantyre, Malawi.

Although rabies kills approximately 60,000 people globally every year, vaccination of over 70 per cent of the canine population has been shown to eliminate the disease in both dogs and human beings. In some rabies endemic countries, owners are able to vaccinate their dogs through private veterinary clinics. However, uptake of dog vaccinations through private veterinary clinics is often low in many rabies endemic countries. In this study, the authors examined the sociodemographic factors which predicted low private rabies vaccination coverage in Blantyre, Malawi. Data on 23,205 dogs were recorded during a door-to-door rabies vaccination programme in 2016. A multivariable logistic regression model was built to identify factors associated with private rabies vaccination. Negative predictors of private vaccination included increasing poverty levels, higher housing densities, male dogs, pregnant or lactating dogs, and puppies and dogs allowed to roam. In contrast, neutered and healthy dogs had greater odds of being privately vaccinated. The present study demonstrated that low private rabies vaccination coverage can be accurately predicted by sociodemographic factors. This information may help inform public health interventions which deliver mass vaccination programmes in rabies endemic countries.