title: The changing landscape of rabies epidemiology and control.
abstract: Over the past 20 years, major progress has been made in our understanding of critical aspects of rabies epidemiology and control. This paper presents results of recent research, highlighting methodological advances that have been applied to burden of disease studies, rabies epidemiological modelling and rabies surveillance. These results contribute new insights and understanding with regard to the epidemiology of rabies and help to counteract misperceptions that currently hamper rabies control efforts in Africa. The conclusion of these analyses is that the elimination of canine rabies in Africa is feasible, even in wildlife-rich areas, through mass vaccination of domestic dogs and without the need for indiscriminate culling to reduce dog population density. Furthermore, the research provides valuable practical insights that support the operational planning and design of dog vaccination campaigns and rabies surveillance measures.
authors.affiliation: Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Scotland. sarah.cleaveland@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cleaveland
authors.forename: Hawthorne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hampson
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haydon
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lankester
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lembo
authors.forename: Francois-Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Meslin
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morters
authors.forename: Zacharia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mtema
authors.forename: Maganga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sambo
authors.forename: Sunny
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Townsend
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control