Conference abstract
Implementation of a one-health rabies surveillance system in the province of Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2019:10(15).13
Mar 2019.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2019.10.15.829
Archived on: 13 Mar 2019
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Rabies, surveillance, epidemiology, burden, dog to human ratio
Oral presentation
Implementation of a one-health rabies surveillance system in the province of Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cline Mbilo1,2,&, Patient Pati Pyana3,4, Jean-Baptiste Kabongo4, Dieudonn Badibanga4, Bobo Luntadila3, Lon NLonda5, Jakob Zinsstag1,2
1Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O.Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland, 2University of Basel, Petersplatz Basel, Switzerland, 3Laboratoire de Rage, Institut National de Recherche Biomdicale, BP: 1197, Kinshasa-Gome, Democratic republic of the Congo, 4Universit Pdagogique Nationale, Croisement Route Matadi-Libration, BP: 8815, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 5Clinique Vtrinaire dEtat de Matadi, Matadi, Inspection Vtrinaire de lAgriculture, Pche et Elevage, Democratic Republic of the Congo
&Corresponding author
Celine Mbilo, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O.Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Introduction: rabies is a fatal viral disease transmitted through the bite or scratch of rabid animals. Domestic dogs are responsible for over 95% of all human cases. Even though rabies is a notifiable disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), little is known about the epidemiology and burden of the disease due to the lack of appropriate surveillance. In the province of Kongo Central several rabies epidemics occurred over the past few years. The aim was to implement a pilot rabies surveillance system for the province of Kongo Central in order to provide reliable data on the epidemiology and burden of rabies.
Methods: we included a total of 6 study sites in our surveillance system and for each study site we identified medical and veterinary focal points responsible for human and animal sample and data collection. The activities were coordinated and supervised by the rabies laboratory at the Institut National de Recherche Biomdicale in Kinshasa where laboratory confirmation by immunofluorescence and direct rapid immunohistochemical tests on samples submitted were performed. Furthermore, we conducted a cross-sectional dog population survey in the city of Matadi which allowed planning for future dog vaccination campaigns, the most sustainable intervention strategy to prevent human rabies exposure.
Results: from July 2017 to September 2018 there were 88 (69%) rabies positive cases from 115 samples submitted which translates into an average of 1.4 rabid dogs per week. In May 2018, 1056 households in Matadi were visited and 100 (9.5%) reported to own at least one dog (on average 1.8 dogs per household). We found a total number of 178 dogs living in these households. The dog to human ratio was estimated at 1:38. Extrapolation of the domestic dog population to the city of Matadi results in an estimate of 8114 (95% CI: 6913-9522) dogs.
Conclusion: our data indicates that rabies is endemic in DR Congo and had a negative impact on public health. We showed that rabies surveillance is feasible and should be extended to other provinces. The collected surveillance data may serve as the basis for future urgently needed rabies control strategies in the country.
