Rabies immune status of vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Rabies is one of the deadliest zoonoses that have existed for decades, affecting wide range of hosts globally. In Nigeria, there is paucity of data on routine antibody check of antirabies vaccinated dogs as quality assurance. This study was designed to investigate the seroprevalence of canine rabies virus in both vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs within Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and eighty-two (182) blood samples collected from dogs were transported to the Virology and Immunology Laboratory of the University of Ilorin Veterinary Teaching Hospital for processing. Sera were harvested from the blood samples and rabies IgG was qualitatively determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Overall seroprevalence of 11% (20/182) was recorded in this study. One hundred and twenty-one (66.5%) and Sixty-one (33.5%) of the dogs used in this study had vaccination and non-vaccination status respectively. The study also revealed that several dogs (78.7%; 48/61) that were said to be vaccinated did not have rabies antibodies while some unvaccinated dogs (5.8%; 7/121) had rabies antibodies. There was a significant (χ2 = 11.177, df = 4, P = 0.025) association between age group and rabies virus antibodies detection. The same significant (χ2 = 9.995, df = 1, P = .002) association was observed for vaccination status of dogs sampled. On the other hand, sex has no significant (χ2 = 0.71, df = 1, P = .790) association with rabies virus antibodies. Poor attitude to vaccination of dogs used for hunting in rural and semi-urban areas was generally observed compared to dogs kept for other purposes in urban areas. There is need for increased rabies awareness campaign, vaccine subsidies, and wider sero-surveillance activities engaging the relevant stakeholders with government sponsorship.