Vaccination campaigns were implemented by the international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Mission Rabies in partnership with local municipalities, governments and NGOs in Blantyre/Chiradzulu/Zomba Districts (Malawi), Goa State (India) and Ranchi City (India). In these core project sites, the Mission Rabies App was used throughout the year to support mass dog vaccination, school education and emergency community response to reported rabies cases. Additional proof-of-concept mass dog vaccination campaigns, vaccinating approximately 5,000 dogs, were conducted for two week periods annually in Negombo (Sri Lanka), Meru (Tanzania) and Koch-Goma (Uganda) from 2015 without education or rabies response components. In 2017, the system was adopted in Haiti through partnership with Poxvirus and Rabies Branch of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Ministere de L’Agriculture des ressources Naturelles et du Developpement Rural (MARNDR) for coordination of the national dog vaccination campaign. Independent partner organisations also used the Mission Rabies App for purposes of coordinating dog sterilization work, dog enumeration studies and mass dog vaccination in Goa (India), Kabul (Afghanistan), Kragujevac (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Baku (Azerbaijan), Yerevan (Armenia), Praia de Faro (Portugal). In a number of project sites partner organisations complement rabies control through interventions to improve dog population management. Dogs undergoing surgery routinely received rabies vaccine at the same time in all projects entering data in the Mission Rabies App.
The structure of mass dog vaccination campaigns varied depending on local dog demographics and ownership practices; in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania a combination of central point (CP) and door-to-door (DD) vaccination was used, whilst in India and Sri Lanka teams moved through the streets vaccinating dogs using DD and catch-vaccinate-release (CVR) to access dogs [19 (link),20 (link)]. Vaccination team size varied depending on approach with CP/DD teams generally consisting of two to three people, whilst CVR teams were usually seven people. Dogs were parenterally vaccinated with Nobivac Rabies (MSD Animal Health) and temporarily marked with non-toxic paint on the forehead to enable assessment of coverage. Direct dog sight surveys and household questionnaires were conducted in the days following vaccination of a region to assess vaccination coverage [19 (link),20 (link)].
Education work in core project sites involved trained education officers delivering rabies education classes in schools throughout the regions of work. Education teams consisted of one or two people following a set schedule to visit regions before the arrival of vaccination teams, increasing awareness of the upcoming vaccination activities. Classes were delivered in the local language and lasted 15–30 minutes covering topics of bite avoidance, wound washing and post exposure prophylaxis as well as aspects of responsible dog ownership and dog population management relevant to the local setting.
Emergency rabies response services were established in core project sites to respond to suspected canine rabies cases reported by the community. These serve to prevent ongoing transmission of rabies virus to humans and other animals by removing the suspected animal, as well as monitoring the impact of vaccination efforts and improving animal welfare through humane management of rabid animals. Emergency canine rabies response teams comprised of at least two dog catchers, a driver and a veterinarian.
The structure of mass dog vaccination campaigns varied depending on local dog demographics and ownership practices; in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania a combination of central point (CP) and door-to-door (DD) vaccination was used, whilst in India and Sri Lanka teams moved through the streets vaccinating dogs using DD and catch-vaccinate-release (CVR) to access dogs [19 (link),20 (link)]. Vaccination team size varied depending on approach with CP/DD teams generally consisting of two to three people, whilst CVR teams were usually seven people. Dogs were parenterally vaccinated with Nobivac Rabies (MSD Animal Health) and temporarily marked with non-toxic paint on the forehead to enable assessment of coverage. Direct dog sight surveys and household questionnaires were conducted in the days following vaccination of a region to assess vaccination coverage [19 (link),20 (link)].
Education work in core project sites involved trained education officers delivering rabies education classes in schools throughout the regions of work. Education teams consisted of one or two people following a set schedule to visit regions before the arrival of vaccination teams, increasing awareness of the upcoming vaccination activities. Classes were delivered in the local language and lasted 15–30 minutes covering topics of bite avoidance, wound washing and post exposure prophylaxis as well as aspects of responsible dog ownership and dog population management relevant to the local setting.
Emergency rabies response services were established in core project sites to respond to suspected canine rabies cases reported by the community. These serve to prevent ongoing transmission of rabies virus to humans and other animals by removing the suspected animal, as well as monitoring the impact of vaccination efforts and improving animal welfare through humane management of rabid animals. Emergency canine rabies response teams comprised of at least two dog catchers, a driver and a veterinarian.
Free full text: Click here
