The Use of Dog Collars Offers Significant Benefits to Rabies Vaccination Campaigns: The Case of Zanzibar, Tanzania
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Published:2023-08-21
Issue:8
Volume:8
Page:421
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ISSN:2414-6366
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Container-title:Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
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language:en
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Short-container-title:TropicalMed
Author:
Omar Khadija N.1ORCID, Coetzer Andre2ORCID, Hamdu Maulid1, Malan Ayla J.3ORCID, Moh’d Ali Z.4, Suleiman Talib S.1, Nel Louis H.23ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Zanzibar Livestock Research Institute, Zanzibar P.O. Box 104, Tanzania 2. Global Alliance for Rabies Control South Africa Non-Profit Company, Pretoria 0181, South Africa 3. Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa 4. Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock, Zanzibar P.O. Box 159, Tanzania
Abstract
Tools and resources that could increase dog vaccination coverage have become increasingly critical towards progressing the goal to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030. In this regard, dog collars that are fitted during vaccination campaigns could potentially enhance owner participation. The use of dog collars will, however, increase the cost per dog vaccinated and the impact and benefit of this practice should be elucidated. This study evaluated the impact of dog collars by testing the perception and related behavioural influences in communities in Zanzibar. In this cross-sectional investigation—conducted approximately two months after the implementation of a mass dog vaccination (MDV) where dog collars were provided to vaccinated dogs—data were collected from 600 respondents in 56 municipal wards in Zanzibar. Descriptive analyses and logistic regressions were undertaken to determine the impact the collars had on respondents with regards to (i) engaging with the community dogs, (ii) health seeking behaviour after exposure, and (iii) overall participation during dog vaccination campaigns. From the data, it was evident that the collars had a positive impact on the community’s perception of dogs, with 57% of the respondents feeling safer around a dog with a collar, while 66% of the respondents felt less safe around a dog without a collar. Furthermore, the collars had a positive impact on participation during dog vaccination campaigns. Of the 142 respondents who owned dogs, 64% reported that the collars made them more likely to take their dogs for vaccination, and 95% felt that the collar was an important sign of the dog’s vaccination status. This study demonstrated that dog collars could not only improve participation during dog vaccination campaigns, but that they could also play a significant role in the community’s perception of rabies vaccination campaigns and vaccinated dogs in general.
Funder
Boehringer Ingelheim
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,General Immunology and Microbiology
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