Spatial inequality hides the burden of dog bites and the risk of dog-mediated human rabies

Puente-Leon, De la; Toledo,; Recuenco,; Shinnick,; Castillo-Neyra,

doi:10.1101/2020.02.07.20020727

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Most barriers expressed by participants could be compounded by distance to the nearest health center. In a recent study, our group found that, on average, peri-urban houses are further away from health facilities [37]. Finally, FGD participants from both areas suggested there should be more information about human rabies on television, including people's testimonies, to improve dissemination about disease prevention.…”

Section: Facilitator: Even Though They Can Die?mentioning

confidence: 83%

Behavioral and structural barriers to accessing human post-exposure prophylaxis and other preventive practices in Arequipa, Peru, during a canine rabies epidemic

Castillo-Neyra¹,

Buttenheim²,

Brown³

et al. 2020

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A canine rabies epidemic started in early 2015 in Arequipa, Peru and the rabies virus continues to circulate in the dog population. Some city residents who suffer dog bites do not seek care or do not complete indicated post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) regimens, increasing the risk of human rabies. The objectives of our study are to qualitatively assess knowledge about rabies, and preventive practices, such as rabies vaccine administration, following a dog bite. We conduct eight focus group discussions in peri-urban and urban communities with 70 total participants. In our results, we observe low awareness of rabies severity and fatality, and different practices following a dog bite, depending on the community type: for example, whereas participants in the urban communities report cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide rather than soap and water, participants in peri-urban areas cover the wound with herbs and hair from the dog that bit them. Misconceptions about rabies vaccines and mistreatment at health centers also commonly prevent initiating or completing PEP. We identify important behavioral and structural barriers and knowledge gaps that limit evidencebased preventive strategies against rabies and may threaten successful prevention of dogmediated human rabies in this setting.

show abstract

Section: Facilitator: Even Though They Can Die?mentioning

confidence: 83%

Behavioral and structural barriers to accessing human post-exposure prophylaxis and other preventive practices in Arequipa, Peru, during a canine rabies epidemic

Castillo-Neyra¹,

Buttenheim²,

Brown³

et al. 2020

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our results show that stopping or pausing dog vaccination and rabies surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic will substantially increase the number of cases of canine rabies with an associated increased risk of human rabies within a few months. The lockdowns have the potential to reduce contact between rabid dogs and humans, but essential activities and some measures to reactivate the economy require people to leave their houses in a city with the highest rate of dog bites in Latin America (42). This model is a logical tool to clarify trends that may result from neglect of rabies due to COVID-19 (as opposed to a tool to predict exact numbers of infected dogs on specific dates).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rabies Reemergence in Latin America: the case of Arequipa, Peru

Raynor

Díaz

Shinnick

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past decades, there has been tremendous progress towards eliminating canine rabies in Latin America. Major components of rabies prevention programs in Latin America leading to these successes have been constant and intense surveillance for rabid dogs and uninterrupted yearly mass dog vaccination campaigns. However, vital measures to control COVID-19 in Latin America have had the negative trade-off of jeopardizing these rabies elimination and prevention activities. In this paper, we aimed to assess the effect of interrupting canine rabies surveillance and mass dog vaccination campaigns on rabies trends. We built a deterministic compartment model of dog rabies dynamics parameterized for conditions found in Arequipa, Peru, where there is an ongoing dog rabies epidemic. Our model suggests that a decrease in canine vaccination coverage as well as decreased surveillance leading to an increased length of survival of infected dogs could lead to a sharp rise in canine rabies and, subsequently, human rabies risk. We examined our results over the best estimate of the basic reproductive number in Arequipa (R0 = 1.44) and a range of plausible values for R0 (1.36 - 2). The rising trend was consistent. It is very possible that COVID-19 will continue to challenge our public health departments in the short- and medium-term. Innovative strategies to conduct dog vaccination and rabies surveillance during these trying times should be considered to safeguard the achievements made in Latin America towards the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies. Resumen (Abstract in Spanish) En las últimas décadas ha habido un tremendo progreso hacia la eliminación de la rabia canina en América Latina. Los principales componentes de los programas de prevención de la rabia en América Latina que condujeron a estos éxitos han sido la vigilancia constante e intensa de los perros con rabia y las campañas anuales de vacunación masiva ininterrumpida. Sin embargo, las medidas esenciales para controlar el COVID-19 en América Latina han tenido el balance negativo de poner en peligro estas actividades de prevención y eliminación de rabia. En este artículo, nuestro objetivo fue evaluar el efecto que la interrupción de la vigilancia de la rabia canina y las campañas de vacunación masiva de perros tendría en las tendencias de la rabia. Modelamos la dinámica de la rabia canina mediante un modelo determinístico de comportamientos parametrizado para las condiciones que se encuentran en Arequipa, Perú, donde hay una epidemia de rabia canina en curso. Nuestro modelo sugiere que una disminución en la cobertura de vacunación canina, así como una disminución en la vigilancia (que llevaría a una mayor supervivencia de los perros infectados), podría llevar a un aumento súbito de rabia canina y, seguidamente, del riesgo de rabia humana. Examinamos nuestros resultados sobre la mejor estimación del número reproductivo básico en Arequipa (R0 = 1.44) y un rango de valores plausibles para R0 (1.36 - 2). La tendencia al alza fue consistente. Es muy posible que el COVID-19 continúe desafiando a nuestros departamentos de salud pública a corto y mediano plazo. Por lo tanto, deben considerarse estrategias innovadoras para llevar a cabo la vacunación de perros y la vigilancia de la rabia durante estos tiempos difíciles para salvaguardar los logros alcanzados en América Latina hacia la eliminación de la rabia humana mediada por perros.

show abstract

“…In a study published in this issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , De la Puente-León and others 5 studied the population of Arequipa, Peru, one of the pockets of rabies reintroduction in dogs. Through interviews in urban and peri-urban areas of the city, which have very different economic and social arrangements, the study sought to quantify the extent of dog bites and to characterize factors linked to healthcare-seeking behaviors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Rabies as a Victim of Its Own Success: Perception of Risk within a Latin American Population

Rocha

2020

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial inequality hides the burden of dog bites and the risk of dog-mediated human rabies

Cited by 3 publications

References 50 publications

Behavioral and structural barriers to accessing human post-exposure prophylaxis and other preventive practices in Arequipa, Peru, during a canine rabies epidemic

Behavioral and structural barriers to accessing human post-exposure prophylaxis and other preventive practices in Arequipa, Peru, during a canine rabies epidemic

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rabies Reemergence in Latin America: the case of Arequipa, Peru

Control of Rabies as a Victim of Its Own Success: Perception of Risk within a Latin American Population

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About