Re-emergence of rabies in dogs and other domestic animals in eastern Bhutan, 2005–2007

Abstract

SUMMARYWe report a major outbreak of rabies in dogs and other domestic animals that occurred in eastern Bhutan between May 2005 and November 2007. The outbreak peaked in February 2006 and subsided by the end of April 2006 with sporadic cases reported until November 2007. Rabies affected 18 of the 40 sub-districts in the three eastern districts of Bhutan. There were reportedly one human and 256 domestic animal fatalities. The outbreak affected cattle (n=141, 55%), dogs (n=106, 41%), horses (n=7, 3%) and cats (n=2, 1%). Rabies was primarily diagnosed by clinical signs but 36 cases were confirmed by fluorescent antibody test of brain samples. High densities and movements of free-roaming dogs might have been responsible for the rapid spread and persistence of the infection for a longer period than expected in dogs in eastern Bhutan.

Rabies virus strains circulating in Bhutan: implications for control

“…Bhutan is located between China and India and canine rabies is prevalent in southern Bhutan along the border with India (Tenzin et al, 2010). As in other Asian countries, domestic dogs in Bhutan play an important role in the maintenance and transmission of the disease to other domestic animals and occasionally to humans.…”

“…As in other Asian countries, domestic dogs in Bhutan play an important role in the maintenance and transmission of the disease to other domestic animals and occasionally to humans. In recent years, rabies outbreaks have increasingly occurred in endemic southern Bhutan as well as in some other areas where rabies had not been reported previously (Tenzin et al, 2010). Despite frequent outbreaks, molecular epidemiological studies of rabies in Bhutan have not been undertaken and the rabies virus variants circulating in the country are unknown.…”

Size and demography pattern of the domestic dog population in Bhutan: Implications for dog population management and disease control

“…However, when dogs are not given proper care, they would roam the streets and become the main source of stray dogs. Large populations of stray dogs and un-supervised owned dogs can create public health threats through bites, disease transmission such as rabies and other zoonotic diseases (Robertson and Thompson, 2002;Feldman et al, 2004;WHO, 2004;Keuster et al, 2005;Zinsstag et al, 2009;Tenzin et al, 2011a;Tenzin et al, 2011b), and also pose threats to native wildlife from predation and disease transmission (Butler et al, 2003;Cleaveland et al, 2007).…”

Bovine rabies in Turkey: patterns of infection and implications for costs and control

“…In contrast, domestic dogs are the major source of livestock rabies in Tanzania and Bhutan [8][9][10]. Table 6.…”

“…Since rabies is invariably fatal, resulting livestock losses are a major economic problem, but there is a particular shortage of published estimates of rabies incidence in livestock and the resulting economic cost. The few published reports of bovine rabies in African and Asian countries, where the main source of disease transmission is the domestic dog, demonstrate that livestock losses from spillover can be substantial [8][9][10]. In many parts of the world, people rely on livestock for food and for work, and therefore bovine rabies can potentially have a significant impact on livelihoods.…”