Recent Research - July 2015

Dog vaccination

Control of Dog Mediated Human Rabies in Haiti: No Time to Spare. A desk and field mission review of Haiti's rabies situation found that implementation of the national rabies plan, particularly dog vaccination, is hampered by limited funding. Official surveillance figures do not accurately reflect the findings of enhanced surveillance, and although international support is common, it is not comprehensive.

On dogs, people, and a rabies epidemic: results from a sociocultural study in Bali, Indonesia. Dogs are kept mainly as guards and companion animals and 79% of respondents kept free-roaming dogs. The rabies outbreak in Bali and Western dog breeds becoming more popular mean that responsible dog ownership is increasing, but there is room for improvement. Sociocultural aspects with potential for community-driven interventions to optimize current rabies elimination efforts were identified.

Evaluation of methods for short-term marking of domestic dogs for rabies control. Spray and crayon livestock marking methods were evaluated for longevity and visibility. After 10 days, 90% of spray marks were still visible, compared with only 46% of crayon marks. Visibility of marks was reduced in darker-coloured dogs, and colors of marks were frequently misclassified. Marks were considered good enough to evaluate vaccination campaigns within 5-7 days after marking.

Effective vaccination against rabies in puppies in rabies endemic regions. Virus neutralising antibody titres were measured in 27 dogs less than 3 months old that were vaccinated with high quality, inactivated rabies vaccine in Tanzania and South Africa. All puppies seroconverted to a single dose of vaccine with no adverse reactions reported and with peak titres from 2.0 to 90.5 IU/ml. The authors recommend that all dogs in rabies endemic regions, including those less than three months of age, are vaccinated to reduce the public health threat from rabies.

Genetically modified rabies virus ERA strain is safe and induces long-lasting protective immune response in dogs after oral vaccination A genetically modified ERA vaccine strain (rERAG333E ) induced strong virus neutralizing antibodies responses in dogs which lasted for over 3 years. Sizeable booster responses to RABV VNA were induced by a second oral dose 1 year after the first dose, suggesting that the strain has potential as a safe and efficient oral live vaccine against rabies in dogs.

Low coverage of central point vaccination against dog rabies in Bamako, Mali. An estimate of the coverage of a central point vaccination campaign (free to dog owners), showed a vaccination coverage of only 17.6%. As only around 8% of dogs were estimated to be ownerless, this points to low participation by dog owners. Reasons given including a lack of information and the inability to handle dogs, and provide information useful to improving future campaigns.

Epidemiological Modelling

Development of a Novel Rabies Simulation Model for Application in a Non-endemic Environment. A stochastic, spatially explicit rabies simulation model based on individual dog information collected in two remote regions in northern Australia was developed to describe dog rabies outbreaks in disease free regions. Plausible results suggested that R0 was 1.7, the epidemic would peak 97 days post-incursion, and vaccination was the most effective response strategy.  

Owned and unowned dog population estimation, dog management and dog bites to inform rabies prevention and response on lombok island, Indonesia. The island of Lombok is rabies-free, but at considerable risk of a rabies incursion from nearby islands such as Bali and Flores. As part of a rabies risk assessment project, surveys were conducted to estimate the size of the dog population and to describe dog management practices of households belonging to different ethnic groups.

 

Human Vaccination and monitoring

Comparison of safety and immunogenicity of two WHO prequalified rabies vaccines administered by one week, 4 site intra dermal regimen (4-4-4-0-0) in animal bite cases. 0.1mL of either Rabipur or Verorab vaccine was administered intradermally into 4 sites on days 0, 3 and 7 to 90 bite victims with Cat II or III wounds. Both vaccines were found to be safe, immunogenic and comparable with each other.

Evaluation of Rapid Neutralizing Antibody Detection Test against Rabies Virus in Human Sera. The rapid neutralizing antibody detection test (RAPINA) a quick test to detect 0.5 IU/ml antibodies in human and animal sera or plasma was compared the rapid focus fluorescence inhibition test, using 214 sera of vaccinated and unvaccinated people in Vietnam. The sensitivity and specificity of the RAPINA test were 100% and 98.34% with concordance of 98.6%, suggesting that the test can be used for rapid determination of NAb in the field.

Pathology

Diabolical effects of rabies encephalitis. Recent research is reviewed to provide an improved understanding of how Rabies virus causes neuronal injury and how the infection results in behavioral changes that promote viral transmission to new hosts.

Advocacy

The Neglected Zoonoses - The Case for Integrated Control and Advocacy. Addressing NZDs by targeting the animal reservoir can deliver a double benefit, through a reduced risk of infection for humans, as well as improved livelihoods through increased animal productivity. Advocacy for NZD control is increasing, but with it comes a growing awareness that NZD control demands activities both at scale and over a long period of time, requiring long term financial commitment, particularly as disease incidence decreases and other health priorities take hold.