Dog bites as a zoonotic risk in Ecuador : Need for the implementation of a One Health approach
Calderón González, Joselyn Lissett (Universidad Agraria del Ecuador)
Poveda, Silvia (Universidad Agraria del Ecuador)
Sosa, Ariana León (Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Salud Pública "Leopoldo Izquieta Pérez". Dirección Técnica de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación)
Mora, Naomi (Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Salud Pública "Leopoldo Izquieta Pérez". Dirección Técnica de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación)
López Béjar, Manel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Sanitat i d'Anatomia Animals)
Orlando, Solón Alberto (Universidad Espiritu Santo)
Garcia-Bereguiain, Miguel Angel (One Health Research Group, Universidad de Las Americas, Quito, Ecuador)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease that can infect all mammals and the main route of transmission to human is attributed to dog bites. Due to the limited information available about the rabies vaccination coverage, although Ecuador is supposed to be free of rabies, we conducted a retrospective study of the epidemiological surveillance records on the notification of dog attacks to humans in Guayaquil, the most populated city in Ecuador. The results showed an annual incidence rate of 105. 6 dog bites per 100,000 inhabitants, where the most affected anatomical parts are the lower extremities; individuals from 1 to 14 years of age were the most affected age group (IC95% 1. 42-1. 92; p < 0. 001). As for the severity of the wounds, most of them (65%) were mild. Moreover, 25% of the dogs were free roaming ones, and only 43% of the dogs with owner had a complete vaccination scheme against rabies virus. We found a important dog attack rate in Guayaquil city and more than half of the dogs involved were not vaccinated against rabies. Under a potential scenario of rabies circulation in canine population, there would be a serious risk for rabies transmission to humans. Hence, it is important to reinforce rabies surveillance and vaccination programs aligned to the One Health concept to manage this public health issue.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Dog bites ; Rabies ; Canines ; Dogs ; One Health ; Ecuador
Published in:	One Health, Vol. 16 (april 2023) , ISSN 2352-7714

DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100544
PMID: 37363229

6 p, 2.4 MB

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