Canine rabies epidemiology in Araçatuba and neighborhood, Northwestern São Paulo State - Brazil

Epidemiological characteristics of canine rabies in the northwest region of São Paulo State (Araçatuba region), Brazil, from 1993 to 1997 are presented. Out of 1,984 dogs, a total of 351 (17.7%) were positive for rabies diagnosis; 89% (312/351) of these occurred in urban areas and 85% (266/312) of the urban positive cases were among owned dogs. The mean age of the rabid dogs was 34 months and 61% were male. Aggressive behavior was observed in 77% of rabid dogs, followed by lack of coordination and paralysis (42%) and 48% of these dogs were responsible biting people or other animals. Information about vaccination status was obtained from 182 records and 51% of rabid dogs were non-vaccinated. The number of unvaccinated rabid dogs indicates a low vaccination index and this factor added to the high dog/man ratio must have contributed to the canine rabies epizootic observed in the studied area.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Silva,Luzia Helena Queiroz da, Bissoto,César Eduardo, Delbem,Ádna Cleia B., Ferrari,Clara Isabel de Lucca, Perri,Sílvia Helena Venturoli, Nunes,Cáris Maroni
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 2004
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822004000200005
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