Spread of rabies in the Kyiv Oblast during 2020-2022

Abstract

In Ukraine, there is a prominent level of rabies circulation among domestic and wild carnivores. Consequently, the epizootic situation of rabies in Ukraine requires studying the spread of this infection using modern surveillance tools, which allow for territorial assessment and identification of risk zones during analysis. The purpose of this research was to describe the spatial characteristics of the rabies epizootic in the Kyiv Oblast during 2020-2022, focusing on both wild and domestic animals. Official reporting data were analysed to examine the total number of samples of pathological material (brain tissue) collected from various animal species with suspected rabies. Positive samples were georeferenced and visualized using software to form clusters of rabies cases based on years and types of animals, creating point layers and density mapping of cases. The analysis revealed that in the Kyiv Oblast, 1788 samples of pathological brain material from animals with suspected rabies were examined, of which 237 were positive. The largest number of samples belonged to wild animals (primarily foxes), acting as a reservoir of the infection. The proportion of wild animals accounted for 64.4% of the total examined, but the number of positive samples varied between 1.7% and 5.5%. Compared to domestic animals (cats and dogs), this figure reached up to 30.0% of the total number of samples examined. Other animal species accounted for 3.2% of positive cases among the total examined. Thus, the highest morbidity rate was observed in domestic animals, representing 72.1% of the total identified positive cases. The highest density of rabies cases in the Kyiv Oblast was observed in the southwest and centre. Persistent clusters of rabies cases were in the Bila Tserkva district and the western outskirts of Kyiv. In the western part of Kyiv, the cluster was formed by cases in wild animals, cats, and dogs. In the Bila Tserkva district, the cluster was formed by cases in wild animals, cats, dogs, and cattle. The highest density of rabies cases in wild animals was registered on the western outskirts of Kyiv