Reliable data is required on diseases like rabies by policy makers and professionals. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the situation of rabies in and around Addis Ababa using retrospective data obtained during 2008 to 2011. Besides, a questionnaire was used to generate information on factors associated with the occurrence of rabies. A total of 935 brain samples from different species of animals were examined for rabies virus antigen during 2008 to 2011, of which 77.6% (n = 726) of them were tested positive. The highest proportion, 87.2% (n = 633) of the positive cases, was recorded in dogs followed by cats, 5.1% (n = 37). Between the years 2008 and 2011, a total of 1,088 dogs were examined for rabies, of which 801 (73.62%) were confirmed to be rabid. The proportion of rabid female dogs (87.5%) was higher than that of males (73.44%), and dogs 3 to 12 months old were diagnosed with rabies more frequently (76.6%) than dogs belonging to other age category. The highest proportion of rabid dogs was recorded in dogs whose ownership was not known followed by ownerless dogs. Rabies cases were confirmed both in vaccinated and non-vaccinated dogs. The number of confirmed rabies cases was higher during September and lower during November. Significant variation was seen among years in occurrence of rabies. The study shows that the principal vector of rabies in Addis Ababa and its surroundings, but most likely in entire Ethiopia, is the dog. Effective rabies management and control based on confirmed cases is recommended.

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A retrospective data on the number of confirmed animal rabies cases and applied rabies control measures over the period 2003-2009 were collected and analyzed to elucidate the situation of animal rabies in and around Addis Ababa. Over the last seven years, 2517 animals brain tissue samples from Dogs, Cats, Cattle, Horses, Donkeys, Shoats, Hyenas and Monkeys were examined for rabies using Fluorescent Antibody Test. Out of all samples examined, 76.9% (n=1936) were positive for rabies antigen. A statistically significant difference (χ 2 = 34.08(1), P<0.0001) in sample positivity was observed between male and female dogs, which seems higher proportion in males 79.2% as compared to 66.9% in females. Higher proportions of cases were confirmed in stray (86.3%) than owned dogs (73.5%). The difference was highly significant (χ 2 = 34.79(1), P<0.0001).There was highly significant difference (χ 2 = 46.73(1), P< 0.0001) in positivity on the vaccination status of dogs. The annual vaccination coverage varies from 1.8-3.8% during the last seven years. The annual confirmed number of rabies cases dropped in 2005 and 2007 during the last seven years rabies trend in and around Addis Ababa. Statistically significant difference was observed (F=11.65, P< 0.0001) in mean number of confirmed rabies cases among 12 calendar months, more number of animal rabies cases was confirmed in summer season.

Introduction: Animal bites and scratches represent the most important public health issue related to dogs and cats because of the risk of rabies transmission associated with physical, psychological trauma and wound infection. Objective: The study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of animal bite of human beings in Addis Ababa. Methods: Data on the kind of animal, age of the patients, gender, site of bites and /or scratch were collected from the registry book and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: A total of 1299 cases of bite and/or scratch were reported for the period September 2008 to August 2009. The majority of bites were made by dogs where stray dogs are much higher (X 2 = 0.83, p= 0.36). There is statistically highly significant difference of bites between sex (p = 0.001) and between age group (F = 5.41, p=0.02). The animal bite made by dogs was higher on legs (55.6 %) followed by hands (26.45 %) and multiple bites (7.51 %). Conclusions:The majority of bites were attributed to stray dogs followed by cats, horses, donkeys. To reduce the problem a preventative public education is suggested. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(1):58-60]

Human Resources for Health (HRH) constitute the most vital component of health systems. However, the HRH picture of Ethiopia has remained critically low and characterized by geographic mal-distribution. This brief aimed to show the major causes for poor health workforce distribution and to suggest possible policy options. We reviewed relevant evidence describing the problem and feasible options to address the problem, the barriers to implement those options, and implementation strategies to address these barriers. We searched electronic databases of systematic reviews and supplemented with local evidences. In our review, we found different options that help to improve health workforce distribution in the remote and rural areas of the country. Systematic reviews on impact of task shifting, clinical rotations in rural areas during studies and financial incentives have shown favourable results that may lead to increase the number of health workforce working in rural and underserved areas. But none of the studies assessed the costs and cost effectiveness of the suggested options. Therefore, given the limitations of the currently available evidence, there is a need for rigorous evaluative research on the cost effectiveness of each option prior to widespread implementation.