[Estimate of the owned canine and feline populations in urban area in Brazil].
OBJECTIVE
Given the importance of assessing owned dog and cat populations to adequate planning and evaluation of rabies control measures in urban areas, it is proposed the use of an estimate of these populations based on human population parameters.


METHODS
The ratio between human population and owned animal (dogs and cats) population was calculated in the municipality of Taboão da Serra, state of São Paulo, Brazil. This municipality was divided into two distinct social and economic homogeneous areas through k-mean algorithm, allowing for comparison between the ratios of the two homogeneous areas.


RESULTS
A 5.14 ratio was calculated for human and dog populations and a 30.57 ratio for human and feline populations. A significant difference was not observed when comparing the ratios for human and animal populations of the two homogeneous areas.


CONCLUSIONS
An estimate of owned dog and cat populations based on the human population is the better choice for assessing the animal population instead of an animal census because it can be easily implemented.
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. dias@vps.fmvz.usp.br
Ricardo Augusto
RA
Dias
Rita de Cássia
Rde C
Garcia
Déborah Ferreira da
DF
Silva
Marcos
M
Amaku
José Soares
JS
Ferreira Neto
Fernando
F
Ferreira
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002415:Cats; D019352:Censuses; D004285:Dogs; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population