The 5th International Conference on Rabies in West Africa (RIWA) (Bamako, 2018)
Canine rabies epidemiology in Garoua, Ngaoundéré and Yaoundé cities, Cameroon
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2018:10(3).30 Dec 2018.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2018.10.3.802
Keywords: Cameroon, canine, rabies, prevalence, DALY
Freddy Patrick Ngah Osoe Bouli1,2,&, Julius Awah-Ndukum2,3, Jean-Pierre Mingoas Kilekoung3, Mathurin Cyrille Tejiokem4, Joseph Tchoumboue2
1Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal industries, Cameroon, 2Faculty of Agronomy and Environmental Sciences (FASA)-University of Dschang, Cameroon, 3School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences-University of Ngaoundéré, Cameroon, 4Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Cameroun
Freddy Patrick Ngah Osoe Bouli, Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal industries, Faculty of Agronomy and Environmental Sciences (FASA)-University of Dschang, Cameroon
Introduction: having data on rabies in Africa is considered as one of the main hindrance for the fight against the disease. Data on dog demographics, prevalence are scarce and sometimes not reliable. Moreover the disease is neglected and few studies on its impact with new indicators have been conducted.
Methods: in order to contribute in these points an epidemiologic study done in the cities of Garoua, Ngaoundéré and Yaoundé, from October 2013 to April 2014. The socio economic impacts and risk factors were assessed by the estimation of the Disability-adjusted life year (DALY's) by analyzing the data from Centre Pasteur of Yaoundé and Garoua and the main hospitals of these two cities for the human aspect. The prevalence of canine rabies was assessed through the data from veterinary clinics and from LANAVET (Laboratoire National Vétérinaire) and Centre Pasteur in order to consider confirmed positive cases. Dog demographics and Knowledge attitude and practices regarding rabies for the population of the different areas were assessed via a 45 questions questionnaire which was distributed to 2500 households respectively 500 in Garoua and Ngaoundéré and 1,500 in Yaoundé.
Results: the study showed that during the period of 2004 to 2013 a total number of 1844 animals suspected of rabies were placed on observations. 68 animals (67 dogs and 01 rat) were confirmed of rabies, equivalent to a prevalence of 3.69% (95% CI [0.77-6.61%]). Also for the public health impact of the disease, 53 human deaths most of whom were under the age of 15 (33.93%) and males (55.28%) were numbered. The financial losses due to the disease was evaluated at 319 809 250 CFA, 99.98% of it linked to post exposure treatments. While the economic burden the DALY score of 1,690 years (95% CI [1685.52-1695.04]). Furthermore the Knowledge-Attitude-Practices (KAP) evaluation of 1118 households exploitable data revealed a poor knowledge of rabies and inappropriate practices which seem to explain the endemic nature of the disease within the cities. 5.22% of the studied population from all the region believed that the disease can be cured through traditional means one of it being to eat the liver of the dog. A dog population of 695,001 was estimated composed of 320,534 owned dogs and 374,467 stray dogs thus a domesticated dog/human ratio of 1/4 and stray dog/human ratio being 1/8.
Conclusion: though it is important to conduct further researches on the topic, this study shows the need for efficient control measures against an ever increasing endemic rabies in the Cameroon. A national campaign based on sensitization of people focusing on those less than 15 years and antirabies vaccination of dogs could help to verse the actual increasing trend of rabies in Cameroon.