Mass dog vaccination in Chad, 2013
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, together with European and African collaborators, carried out a mass dog vaccination in Chad and determined its effect on human rabies exposure. The study employed a bio-mathematical method for estimating the transmission dynamics of rabies. The researchers conclude that with political will and the necessary funding, elimination of rabies is possible in Africa. Rabies is a viral disease that kills tens of thousands of people every year, predominantly in Africa and Asia.The disease is transmitted through the bites of infected dogs and foxes. In Westand Central Europe, rabieswas eliminated some 20 years ago. Switzerland was declared free of rabies in 1999 after implementing astrategy targeting foxes. "If you want to prevent humans from dying from rabies in Africa and Asia, you need to eliminate dog rabies,"said Jakob Zinsstag from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), first author and principalinvestigator of a study in Science Translational Medicine.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
