Investigation of the temporal roaming behaviour of free-roaming domestic dogs in Indigenous communities in northern Australia to inform rabies incursion preparedness

Abstract

Australia is canine rabies free but free-roaming, domestic dog populations in remote northern communities are at risk of an incursion due to proximity to rabies-endemic south-east Asia. Unrestricted contact between dogs could facilitate rabies spread following an incursion, and increase the impact on both dogs and people. Whilst dog vaccination is the foundation of rabies prevention, control strategies could be enhanced by understanding the temporal pattern of roaming and associated risk factors, so that movement restrictions can be targeted. Global positioning system datasets from 132 dogs in eight Indigenous communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) of Australia were analysed using regression methods. The influence of risk factors (including age, sex, location, season and hour of day) on dogs’ distance from their residences were assessed. Dogs roamed furthest in the NPA and during the dry season. Daily peaks in mean roaming distance were observed at 1000–1100 hrs and 1700–1800 hrs in the Torres Strait, and 1700–1800 hrs in the NPA. These findings demonstrate that understanding community-specific temporal roaming patterns can inform targeted movement restrictions during an outbreak of rabies in remote communities in northern Australia.

Changes in Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in 1 Week and 1 Month Later After the Wuhan Shutdown Against the COVID-19 Epidemic

“…And attention to COVID-19, risk of infection and self-perceived health status were associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Respondents who felt that their lives were more severely affected by the COVID-19 exhibited more obvious anxiety, depression, and stress than the rest of them 26 . Specifically, we found that urban residents were more likely to report anxiety, depression and stress than rural counterparts.…”

“…Since respondents were those who had mobile phones with access to WeChat and decide to participate in the survey, which means that most people get information about COVID-19 mainly through the mass media. However, because our most investigations conducted in the early stage of shutdown, everyone had inadequate understanding of the actual situation of COVID-19, so discrimination and prejudice driven by fear or misinformation have been flowing globally 26 . Since people cannot differentiate true and false news, the more attention to COVID-19, the more unclear information may be received, which negatively affects respondents' psychological status.…”

Comparative Study of Free-Roaming Domestic Dog Management and Roaming Behavior Across Four Countries: Chad, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Uganda

“…Often, data were collected using Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices (1-4, 6-8, 11-16, 18-20), but other tools, such as capture-recapture (10,21) or interviews (9), were also used to collect data on FRDD roaming behavior. Home range (2,14,17,19), the area a dog commonly uses for normal activities, such as breeding or foraging, and distance from home (12,13,20) were applied to describe and investigate dog roaming behavior. These studies improved knowledge on FRDD behavior by investigating dog movements in relation to their habitat (15,16), interactions with wildlife (7,12), impact of dog characteristics (6,8,10,13,22), or sterilization (10,14) on dog roaming behavior.…”

“…However, dog behavior has also been investigated in regard to other dogtransmitted zoonotic diseases, such as echinococcosis (18,19), Leishmaniasis (25,26), or Rocky Mountain spotted fever (11), because of their impact on human health. The objectives of those studies include the refinement of current control strategies in endemic areas, preventing disease incursion in countries free from specific diseases (e.g., rabies in Australia) and informing dog population management programs (20,23,27).…”

What Is a Dingo? The Phenotypic Classification of Dingoes by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Residents in Northern Australia

“…In remote Indigenous communities in Northern Australia, most domestic dogs roam freely [ 15 , 16 ] and, therefore, can come into contact with dingoes. Hybridisation between dingoes and community-owned dogs in Northern Australia has been demonstrated [ 17 ].…”