Rabies Ecology in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Despite availability of safer and cost-effective treatments and vaccines, rabies is still considered among the most fatal viral zoonotic disease worldwide. The epidemiology of rabies is directly associated with the ecology of the reservoirs which needs better understanding to underpin appropriate control measures. There are only few reported attempts made towards understanding the ecology of dog and rabies cases in Nigeria. Although dogs are tolerated and kept in Bauchi State, the risk factors associated with dog ownership in the state, remain to be studied. This study is aimed at determining the risk factors associated with dog ownership in Bauchi state and to evaluate the degree with which the presence or absence of the identified factors can increase or decrease risk of rabies cases in the state. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted amongst dog owners across the state. Basic descriptive analyses were carried out in Microsoft Excel 2016 and IBM SPSS 21 was used to determine the relative risk (RR) of rabies occurrence in households across the state when exposed to each of the identified risk factors where P-value was set at 0.05. A total of 80 questionnaires were completed and received from the respondents. The calculated RR, revealed that the practice of extensive system of management increases the risk of canine rabies amongst dogs of the state by 80% and knowledge of dog owners about canine rabies reduces the risk of canine rabies by 27%. This study confirmed that dogs are owned and tolerated but poorly managed under extensive management system in Bauchi state with increasing risks of rabies spread due to low vaccination coverage and lack of practical application of knowledge on the dangers of rabies amongst the populace. The public health implication of this situation and the need for concerted efforts for sustainable control of rabies in the state is discussed