Abstract
Rabies is one of the most fatal diseases in both humans and animals. A bite by a rabid dog
is the main cause of human rabies in Africa. Parenteral mass dog vaccination is the most
cost-effective tool to prevent rabies in humans. Our main objective was to review research
articles on the parenteral dog rabies vaccination coverage in Africa. We aimed to review
published research articles on percentage of dogs owned and percentage of dogs vaccinated
against rabies, and on the relation between vaccination coverage and cost recovery.We
followed the standard procedures of a systematic literature review resulting in a final review
of 16 scientific articles. Our review results indicate that only a small percentage of African
dogs is ownerless. Puppies younger than 3 months of age constitute a considerable
proportion of the African dog population. There are considerably more male dogs than female
dogs present within the dog population. The dog rabies parenteral vaccination coverage
following a “free of charge” vaccination scheme (68%) is closer to World Health
Organization recommended threshold coverage rate (70%) compared to the coverage rate
achieved in “owner-charged” dog rabies vaccination schemes (18%). In conclusion, most
dogs in Africa are owned and accessible for vaccination once the necessary financial arrangements
have been made.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e0003447 |
Journal | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- canine rabies
- machakos district
- bite injuries
- rural africa
- ecology
- population
- chad
- elimination
- ndjamena
- campaign