title: Difficulties in estimating the human burden of canine rabies.
abstract: Current passive surveillance data for canine rabies, particularly for the regions where the burden is highest, are inadequate for appropriate decision making on control efforts. Poor enforcement of existing legislation and poor implementation of international guidance reduce the effectiveness of surveillance systems, but another set of problems relates to the fact that canine rabies is an untreatable condition which affects very poor sectors of society. This results in an unknown, but potentially large proportion of rabies victims dying outside the health system, deaths that are unlikely to be recorded by surveillance systems based on health center records. This article critically evaluates the potential sources of information on the number of human deaths attributable to canine rabies, and how we might improve the estimates required to move towards the goal of global canine rabies elimination.
authors.affiliation: Global Alliance for Rabies Control, 529Humboldt Street, Suite 1, Manhattan, Kansas 66502, USA; Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute for Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Louise.Taylor@rabiesalliance.org.
authors.forename: Louise H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute for Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hampson
authors.affiliation: Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fahrion
authors.affiliation: Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abela-Ridder
authors.affiliation: Global Alliance for Rabies Control, 529Humboldt Street, Suite 1, Manhattan, Kansas 66502, USA; Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Louis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Nel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D004285:Dogs; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000662:veterinary; D014943:Global Health; D006078:Government Programs; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011634:Public Health; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D011819:Rabies Vaccines
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines
keywords: Canine rabies; Disease burden; Surveillance