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

Rinzin, Karma; Tenzin, Tenzin; Robertson, Ian D.

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.01.030

Cited by 50 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This study reports that over half of the owned dogs in Haiti were allowed to roam freely all or part of the time. Rural areas experienced a higher frequency of dog roaming than urban, which corresponds with findings from similar studies in other developing countries (Acosta‐Jamett et al., ; Rinzin et al., ). These communal interactions, combined with an absence of veterinary care and poor access to animal vaccines, contribute to the transmission of a multitude of zoonotic diseases, particularly rabies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Dog Ecology and Barriers to Canine Rabies Control in the Republic of Haiti, 2014-2015

Schildecker

Millien

Blanton

et al. 2016

Transbound Emerg Dis

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An estimated 59 000 persons die annually of infection with the rabies virus worldwide, and dog bites are responsible for 95% of these deaths. Haiti has the highest rate of animal and human rabies in the Western Hemisphere. This study describes the status of animal welfare, animal vaccination, human bite treatment, and canine morbidity and mortality in Haiti in order to identify barriers to rabies prevention and control. An epidemiologic survey was used for data collection among dog owners during government-sponsored vaccination clinics at fourteen randomly selected sites from July 2014 to April 2015. A total of 2005 surveys were collected and data were analysed using parametric methods. Over 50% of owned dogs were allowed to roam freely, a factor associated with rabies transmission. More than 80% of dog owners reported experiencing barriers to accessing rabies vaccination for their dogs. Nearly one-third of the dog population evaluated in this study died in the year preceding the survey (32%) and 18% of these deaths were clinically consistent with rabies. Dog bites were commonly reported, with more than 3% of the study population bitten within the year preceding the survey. The incidence of canine rabies in Haiti is high and is exacerbated by low access to veterinary care, free-roaming dog populations and substandard animal welfare practices. Programmes to better understand the dog ecology and development of methods to improve access to vaccines are needed. Rabies deaths are at historical lows in the Western Hemisphere, but Haiti and the remaining canine rabies endemic countries still present a significant challenge to the goal of rabies elimination in the region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Dog Ecology and Barriers to Canine Rabies Control in the Republic of Haiti, 2014-2015

Schildecker

Millien

Blanton

et al. 2016

Transbound Emerg Dis

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“…Similar to other free-roaming dog studies in Chile [17,42], South Africa [62], India [63], Kenya [37], Bangladesh [64], Bali [62], Mexico [38], Bolivia [65], Bhutan [66] and Thailand [67], sex ratio was male-biased. This is likely a combination of male-biased birth sex ratio, and lower female survival, regardless of village or body condition.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Ecology and Demography of Free-Roaming Domestic Dogs in Rural Villages near Serengeti National Park in Tanzania

et al. 2016

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Free-roaming dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are of public health and conservation concern because of their potential to transmit diseases, such as rabies, to both people and wildlife. Understanding domestic dog population dynamics and how they could potentially be impacted by interventions, such as rabies vaccination, is vital for such disease control efforts. For four years, we measured demographic data on 2,649 free-roaming domestic dogs in four rural villages in Tanzania: two villages with and two without a rabies vaccination campaign. We examined the effects of body condition, sex, age and village on survivorship and reproduction. Furthermore, we compared sources of mortality among villages. We found that adult dogs (>12mos) had higher survival than puppies in all villages. We observed a male-biased sex ratio across all age classes. Overall survival in one non-vaccination village was lower than in the other three villages, all of which had similar survival probabilities. In all villages, dogs in poor body condition had lower survival than dogs in ideal body condition. Sickness and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) predation were the two main causes of dog death. Within vaccination villages, vaccinated dogs had higher survivorship than unvaccinated dogs. Dog population growth, however, was similar in all the villages suggesting village characteristics and ownership practices likely have a greater impact on overall dog population dynamics than vaccination. Free-roaming domestic dogs in rural communities exist in the context of their human owners as well as the surrounding wildlife. Our results did not reveal a clear effect of vaccination programs on domestic dog population dynamics. An investigation of the role of dogs and their care within these communities could provide additional insight for planning and implementing rabies control measures such as mass dog vaccination.

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“…The problem is that, far from been a constant, the HDR is heterogeneous in Brazil and in other countries (Canatto et al, ; Castillo‐Neyra et al, ; Flores‐Ibarra & Estrella‐Valenzuela, ; Knobel et al, ; Serafini, Rosa, Guimaraes, De Morais, & Biondo, ; Trapp et al, ) and even small variations result in significant differences in dog population size and vaccination coverage (people working with rabies in Brazil and other Latin American countries often estimate vaccination coverages above 100% or even 200%; personal communication). The MDH is less popular than the HDR, but it has been used as a descriptor of the owned‐dog population (Rinzin, Tenzin, & Robertson, ) and as a parameter to estimate the owned‐dog population size (Asher et al, ). We evaluated and compared these indexes to have a better idea of their usefulness and limitations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size, spatial and household distribution, and rabies vaccination coverage of the Brazilian owned‐dog population

Baquero

Queiroz

2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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Dog rabies and human rabies transmitted by dogs can be prevented through adequate dog vaccination coverage. For surveillance purposes, this coverage must be calculated using accurate population size estimates to avoid misleading conclusions. We used data from a Brazilian national survey comprising 64,348 households, to calculate point estimates and confidence intervals of the size, household density, and rabies vaccination coverage of the owned‐dog population in Brazilian federative units. We also evaluated the precision of owned‐dog population size estimates, based on the extrapolation among different areas, of the mean number of dogs per household and the human/dog ratio. The estimated owned‐dog population size in Brazil was 52,198,324 (95% CI = 51,028,583–53,368,066) and the dog vaccination coverage was 80.09% (95% CI = 79.09%–81.09%). Both estimates had marked variation across Brazilian federative units and urban/rural strata. Only two of the 27 federative units had a confidence interval in rural vaccination coverage above 70% and six did not pass this threshold in their urban stratum. For the first time, we reported probabilistic estimates for an entire country and its main administrative areas. The estimated coverage for the country was high because the most populated federative unit also had high coverage. The mean number of dogs per household and the human/dog ratio were useful as survey estimates to characterize owned‐dog density. However, the simple extrapolation of these parameters resulted in estimates of owned‐dog population sizes with large errors (up to 254%) that must be interpreted with caution to avoid misleading conclusions. To evaluate the dog population size, we recommend the use of probabilistic sampling designs instead of simple human/dog ratio extrapolations, and the inclusion of animal‐related questions in censuses and national surveys to obtain reliable estimates to support improvements in animal and human health.

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

Cited by 50 publications

References 20 publications

Dog Ecology and Barriers to Canine Rabies Control in the Republic of Haiti, 2014-2015

Dog Ecology and Barriers to Canine Rabies Control in the Republic of Haiti, 2014-2015

Ecology and Demography of Free-Roaming Domestic Dogs in Rural Villages near Serengeti National Park in Tanzania

Size, spatial and household distribution, and rabies vaccination coverage of the Brazilian owned‐dog population

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