title: The Vaccination of 35,000 Dogs in 20 Working Days Using Combined Static Point and Door-to-Door Methods in Blantyre, Malawi.
abstract: An estimated 60,000 people die of rabies annually. The vast majority of cases of human rabies develop following a bite from an infected dog. Rabies can be controlled in both human and canine populations through widespread vaccination of dogs. Rabies is particularly problematic in Malawi, costing the country an estimated 13 million USD and 484 human deaths annually, with an increasing paediatric incidence in Blantyre City. Consequently, the aim of this study was to vaccinate a minimum of 75% of all the dogs within Blantyre city during a one month period. Blantyre's 25 administrative wards were divided into 204 working zones. For initial planning, a mean human:dog ratio from the literature enabled estimation of dog population size and dog surveys were then performed in 29 working zones in order to assess dog distribution by land type. Vaccination was conducted at static point stations at weekends, at a total of 44 sites, with each operating for an average of 1.3 days. On Monday to Wednesday, door-to-door vaccination sessions were undertaken in the areas surrounding the preceding static point stations. 23,442 dogs were vaccinated at static point stations and 11,774 dogs were vaccinated during door-to-door vaccinations. At the end of the 20 day vaccination programme, an assessment of vaccination coverage through door-to-door surveys found that of 10,919 dogs observed, 8,661 were vaccinated resulting in a vaccination coverage of 79.3% (95%CI 78.6-80.1%). The estimated human:dog ratio for Blantyre city was 18.1:1. Mobile technology facilitated the collection of data as well as efficient direction and coordination of vaccination teams in near real time. This study demonstrates the feasibility of vaccinating large numbers of dogs at a high vaccination coverage, over a short time period in a large African city.
authors.affiliation: Mission Rabies, Cranborne, Dorset, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Division of Genetics and Genomics, The University of Edinburgh, Hospital for Small Animals, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ian G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Handel
authors.affiliation: Mission Rabies, Cranborne, Dorset, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shervell
authors.affiliation: Blantyre Society for the Protection and Care of Animals, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Tarryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roux
authors.affiliation: Mission Rabies, Cranborne, Dorset, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development, Blantyre Agriculture Office, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Stanford
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muyila
authors.affiliation: Blantyre Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Golden B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Maruwo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development, Blantyre Agriculture Development Division, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Edwin M S
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Nkhulungo
authors.affiliation: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development, Lilongwe, Malawi.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chikungwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development, Lilongwe, Malawi.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chimera
authors.affiliation: The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Division of Genetics and Genomics, The University of Edinburgh, Hospital for Small Animals, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Barend M deC
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bronsvoort
authors.affiliation: The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Division of Veterinary Clinical Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Hospital for Small Animals, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Mellanby
authors.affiliation: Mission Rabies, Cranborne, Dorset, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gamble
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000379:methods*; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines