Dog Ecology and Management in Niger State, Nigeria: A Basic Tool for Rabies Control

Abstract

Methodology: Structured questionnaires on dog ecology and management comprising of 4 sections, were administered to 300 adult participants between the ages of 18-70 years using systematic randomization; 237 questionnaires were returned. Descriptive statistics using the SAS statistical package were employed to analyze the data. Results: Results indicated that there was a population ratio of 1:5.4 dogs to humans and 1:1.9 female to male dog ratio with an estimated 732,476 dog population in Niger State. Most of the dogs (58.6%) in the state were kept for security reasons and that majority of the dogs strayed at night (52.4%) and evenings (23.8%) into homes across the state. About 52% of dogs were not confined and responsibility for dogs in terms of welfare, mostly (61.5%) lied on everybody in the family and 61% of dogs were fed on family left overs. About 30.4% of dogs were never vaccinated and 31% of the respondents (or their family members) have been inflicted with a dog bite, but only 28.1% of cases received post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). For those humans that were bitten, about 13.8% resulted in death. Conclusion: Due to free roaming and irregular vaccination of dogs in the state; there is bound to be increased dog bite cases/rabies spread. This study concludes that dogs were not catered for as expected in the state and that employment of dog ecological studies before any rabies control programmes, will explore necessary data for planning the programme in Niger State of Nigeria. Improvement and employment of dog ecological studies across states for rabies control programmes in Nigeria and W/Africa is hereby recommended.

Estimation of dog population in Nasarawa state Nigeria: a pilot study

“…The community need to be enlightened in this area so that the importance of raising puppies in the ward will be taken seriously and implemented. Similar finding was reported where 32.8% of the dogs were below one 1 year of age, 42.3% (1-5 years) and 24.9% (>5years) [31]. In another study, 31.72% of dogs in Lagos state were less than 1 year old and 68.28 % >1 year [32].…”

“…The percentage of dogs vaccinated in this study is far below the World Health Organization standard of vaccination of 70-80% dog population in an area in order to boost herd immunity [34]. This reveals the immense need for sensitization in Nasarawa state (antirabies vaccination campaign) as compared to other states of the Federation where similar studies were conducted such as in Lagos [32] and Niger states [31], where the percentage of dogs vaccinated against rabies almost met the WHO requirement for rabies control. In connection with the purpose of dog rearing and low antirabies vaccination, is the issue of the management systems of the dogs in the state where majority are owned and unconfined (semi-intensive system of management); they roam about around the vicinity and are fed at their various homes.…”

“…None of the dogs were treated as pets or reared for breeding in this study indicating the need for a dog breeding programme in the state to boost the production of mixed and exotic breeds of dogs in the state. Similarly, report from Niger state [31] revealed majority of the dogs 60.1% as native (local), 14.5% mixed and 25.4% exotic breeds. Also, in agreement with this study is the report from Lagos state [32] where majority of the dogs were local breeds (41.9%), 29.5% crossbreeds (mixed) and 25.5% exotic breeds.…”

“…There is serious need for public enlightenment on rabies in the state and to relate the need for annual antirabies vaccination for their dogs. From other studies so far conducted in other states, Nasarawa state had the least vaccination rate of dogs against rabies; 39.9% in Aba vaccinated against rabies [33], 64.1% dogs vaccinated in Lagos [32] and in Niger state, 69.6% were vaccinated [31]. The percentage of dogs vaccinated in this study is far below the World Health Organization standard of vaccination of 70-80% dog population in an area in order to boost herd immunity [34].…”

Dog population structure in Kumasi, Ghana: a missing link towards rabies control

“…In Niger state, Nigeria, there was an increase in dog to human ratio from 1:12.1 in 1999 to 1:5.4 in 2017 indicating a closer interaction between dogs and humans which could pose public health outcomes. About 55% of dogs roamed freely to other people's homes at night for food and mating [17]. A 56 minute hotline documentary captioned “Deadly Pets” Ghana shook the minds of many citizens as rabies became a topic of discussion.…”