Rabies outbreak in black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), South Africa, 2016.

Rabies, a fatal and vaccine-preventable disease, is endemic throughout Africa. In 2016, a rabies outbreak occurred in black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) along the western boundary of Gauteng Province, South Africa. We investigated the possible drivers of the 2016 outbreak and established its origin. Using spatio-temporal locations of cases, we applied logistic regression and Geographic Information System techniques to investigate environmental covariates driving occurrences of emerging rabies cases in Gauteng Province. About 53.8% of laboratory-confirmed lyssaviruses in Gauteng Province in 2016 originated from jackals. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed from a partial region of the glycoprotein gene of these and historical rabies viruses (RABVs) demonstrated the lyssaviruses to be of canid origin with 97.7% nucleotide sequence similarity. The major cluster comprised jackal RABVs from the 2012 KwaZulu/Natal outbreak and the 2016 outbreak in Gauteng Province. The second cluster was composed of both jackal and dog RABVs. Both clusters correlated with independent RABV introductions into Gauteng by dogs and jackals, respectively. This study demonstrated an expansion of a jackal rabies cycle from north-west Province into Gauteng Province during the 2016 dry period, as jackals ranged widely in search for food resources leading to increased jackal-dog interactions, reminiscent of the intricate links of domestic and wildlife rabies cycles in South Africa.

Controlling dog rabies in Africa: successes, failures and prospects for the future.

Rabies is an acute and progressive encephalitis caused by lyssaviruses (family Rhabdoviridae, order Mononegavirales). Approximately 99% of the estimated 59,000 annual human rabies deaths in Africa and Asia are attributed to dog bites and are preventable through parenteral dog vaccination. In addition to dog rabies, the rabies virus also circulates in wildlife carnivores in southern Africa and virus exchange occurs readily across species barriers. In the early 1900s, rabies outbreaks were brought under control by the restriction of animal movements and by killing stray dogs. Subsequently, the disease was effectively controlled through vaccination. One prerequisite for rabies control is a thorough knowledge of dog populations. In Africa, only a few mass dog vaccination campaigns have reached the 70% coverage believed to minimise the spread of the disease. Live attenuated vaccines, such as SAG-2, used to control fox rabies in Europe, are safe for nontarget species, making oral vaccination an appealing complementary approach for dog rabies control in Africa. The success of rabies control in KwaZulu/Natal (South Africa) and Serengeti (Tanzania) is an excellent example of how public- private partnerships (PPPs) can contribute to the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies in Africa by 2030. Such PPPs are pivotal and will enhance public health awareness, promote mass dog vaccinations and improve accessibility to post-exposure prophylaxis.

La rage est une encéphalite progressive et aiguë causée par des lyssavirus (famille Rhabdoviridae, ordre Mononegavirales). Environ 99 % des 59 000 décès humains dus à la rage en Afrique et en Asie sont imputés à des morsures de chiens et seraient évitables en recourant à la vaccination des chiens par voie parentérale. En dehors du réservoir canin, le virus de la rage est également présent chez des carnivores sauvages d'Afrique australe et franchit aisément les barrières d'espèces. Au début du xxe siècle les foyers de rage ont pu être maîtrisés en restreignant les mouvements d'animaux et en contrôlant les populations de chiens errants. Par la suite la maladie a été maîtrisée efficacement au moyen de la vaccination. Il est indispensable de bien connaître les populations de chiens si l'on veut lutter efficacement contre la rage. Les campagnes de vaccinations massives des chiens réalisées en Afrique n'ont que très rarement atteint la couverture vaccinale de 70 % censée minimiser la propagation de la maladie. Compte tenu de leur innocuité pour les espèces non cibles, les vaccins à virus vivant atténué mis au point pour lutter contre la rage vulpine en Europe (par exemple le vaccin SAG2) offrent une option intéressante pour la vaccination orale des chiens en tant que méthode complémentaire contre la rage canine en Afrique. Le contrôle réussi de la rage dans le KwaZulu/Natal (Afrique du Sud) et le parc national du Serengeti (Tanzanie) illustre l'importance des partenariats public-privé pour atteindre l'objectif d'élimination de la rage humaine transmise par les chiens en Afrique d'ici 2030. Ces partenariats jouent un rôle déterminant et se traduiront à l'avenir par une meilleure prise de conscience du public, une mise en avant de la vaccination massive des chiens et un accès plus large à la prophylaxie postexposition.

La rabia es una encefalitis aguda y progresiva causada por lisavirus (familia Rhabdoviridae, orden Mononegavirales). Aproximadamente un 99% de las 59 000 muertes al año que según las estimaciones causa la rabia humana en África y Asia son atribuibles a la mordedura de un perro y podrían prevenirse con la vacunación canina por vía parenteral. En el sur de África, el virus de la rabia circula no solo en perros, sino también en carnívoros silvestres, por lo que fácilmente se producen intercambios de virus que atraviesan la barrera de las especies. A principios del siglo XX, para sofocar los brotes de rabia se restringían los movimientos de los animales y se sacrificaba a los perros vagabundos. Más adelante fue posible controlar eficazmente la enfermedad utilizando la vacunación. Un requisito previo para la lucha antirrábica es un profundo conocimiento de la población canina. De todas las campañas de vacunación masiva de perros emprendidas en África, solo unas pocas han alcanzado el nivel de cobertura del 70% que en principio se requiere para contener eficazmente la propagación de la enfermedad. Las vacunas vivas atenuadas como la SAG-2, utilizada para luchar contra la rabia vulpina en Europa, son seguras para las especies no destinatarias, lo que hace de la vacunación oral un interesante método complementario para combatir la rabia en las poblaciones de perros africanos. El éxito de la lucha antirrábica en KwaZulu/Natal (Sudáfrica) y el Serengueti (Tanzania) brinda un perfecto ejemplo de lo útil que puede ser la colaboración entre el sector público y el privado para lograr que antes de 2030 la rabia humana transmitida por perros haya desaparecido de África. Estas alianzas publicoprivadas son cruciales para generar mayor conciencia en torno a los problemas de salud pública, promover las vacunaciones masivas de perros y mejorar el acceso a las medidas de profilaxis tras la exposición.

First international collaborative study to evaluate rabies antibody detection method for use in monitoring the effectiveness of oral vaccination programmes in fox and raccoon dog in Europe.

The most effective and sustainable method to control and eliminate rabies in wildlife is the oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of target species, namely foxes and raccoon dogs in Europe. According to WHO and OIE, the effectiveness of oral vaccination campaigns should be regularly assessed via disease surveillance and ORV antibody monitoring. Rabies antibodies are generally screened for in field animal cadavers, whose body fluids are often of poor quality. Therefore, the use of alternative methods such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been proposed to improve reliability of serological results obtained on wildlife samples. We undertook an international collaborative study to determine if the commercial BioPro ELISA Rabies Ab kit is a reliable and reproducible tool for rabies serological testing. Our results reveal that the overall specificity evaluated on naive samples reached 96.7%, and the coefficients of concordance obtained for fox and raccoon dog samples were 97.2% and 97.5%, respectively. The overall agreement values obtained for the four marketed oral vaccines used in Europe were all equal to or greater than 95%. The coefficients of concordance obtained by laboratories ranged from 87.2% to 100%. The results of this collaborative study show good robustness and reproducibility of the BioPro ELISA Rabies Ab kit.

An evaluation of dog rabies control in Limpopo province (South Africa).

Rabies is a prevalent and re-emerging disease in South Africa particularly in rural areas with high human densities. Outbreaks are frequently reported in the north and eastern parts of this country, probably an indication of inadequacy in the control of the disease. Following the 2005/2006 outbreak in Limpopo, we undertook an analysis of case surveillance data and genetically characterized 18 rabies viruses, all recovered from domestic dogs. Although rabies prevalence gradually declined annually from 2007, dog rabies still remains a public and veterinary health hazard in this region. Sylvatic rabies cycles are maintained by the black-backed jackal species in specific ecological conditions in the northwest of the province (Waterberg area), unlike in the north and east (Vhembe and Mopani districts, respectively), where spillover of infection between dogs and jackals is likely to predominate. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the rabies virus strain currently circulating within dog populations in Limpopo province is the same variant responsible for the 2005/2006 rabies outbreak. However, residual foci probably exist hence the observed sporadic outbreaks. These data further underline the value of continuous and sustainable dog immunization in controlling rabies.