A Comparison of the Impact of Rabid Foxes with Rabid Raccoons, New York State

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http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/3/ICEID2008.pdf (board 362 pg 255)

Background: Rabies virus, an RNA virus of the Lyssavirus genus, causes an acute, incurable encephalomyelitis with a case-fatality rate approaching 100%. The virus is transmitted through the saliva of infected
mammals. In New York State (NYS), terrestrial rabies is found in the greatest numbers among raccoons, skunks, and red and grey foxes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that rabid grey foxes are more aggressive and are more likely to attack humans than rabid raccoons. The purpose of this investigation was to employ the NYS rabies surveillance data to determine whether rabid foxes were more likely than rabid raccoons to have been involved in a human exposure and whether they were more likely to have caused a direct exposure (such as a bite).
Methods:
The NYS Department of Health?s rabies laboratory data and human exposure and treatment data from 1999-2007 were examined. Data analysis was performed in SAS 9.1. Results: From 1999 to 2007, rabies was laboratory-confirmed in 3015 raccoons, 227 grey foxes, and 61 red foxes. Raccoons were associated with 1487 human exposure incidents and 2192postexposure prophylaxes (PEPs), compared to 156 human exposure incidents and 210 PEPs for foxes (red and grey foxes combined). Among all animals that caused a potential rabies exposure in NYS, foxes were more likely than raccoons to be linked to a human exposure (OR: 9.96; 95% CI: 5.63-17.62). Among the subset of animals linked to a human exposure, foxes were more likely than raccoons to have caused a bite (versus non-bite) exposure (OR: 4.58; 95% CI: 3.47-6.05). Similarly, rabid foxes were more likely to have had direct (versus indirect) contact with a human (OR: 4.37; 95% CI: 3.17-6.02).
Conclusions:
Although raccoons remain the leading terrestrial wildlife source of potential rabies exposures and PEPs in NYS, rabid foxes appear to be more likely to cause direct human exposures than rabid raccoons. More research needs to be done to determine whether the difference in human exposures is caused by the rabies infection or is indicative of inherent differences between the infected animal species. The findings should inform educational campaigns for the public as well as for animal control and law enforcement officials who are often called to investigate wildlife issues.

 

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Animal Rabies Surveillance in Jordan, 2000-2007

Animal Rabies Surveillance in Jordan, 2000-2007

Also from the EID document (board 360 pg 254)
Background:
Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis. In developing countries, accurate data about animal rabies is lacking due to incomplete reporting systems. This report describes the incidence of animal rabies in Jordan during the period January 2000 to July 2007.
Methods:
A retrospective investigation was carried out on data collected by theDivision of Vaccines and Sera, Ministry of Health, which is the referral rabies diagnostic laboratory in Jordan. The confirmatory test used was direct fluorescent antibody testing by standard protocol. Data on date of testing, animal species, and geographic location were analyzed.
Results:
During the study period, 89 cases of rabies in animals were identified in Jordan; 48 (54%) were in dogs, 18 (20%) in cattle, 6 (7%) in goats, and 5 (6%) in sheep. No human cases were reported. The yearly number of animal cases increased sharply from 2003 (1 case) to 2007 (31 cases through July). There was no change in surveillance procedures for animal rabies. Cases occurred in 16 of the 21 health directorates in Jordan, but most were geographically concentrated in the north (Ajloun, Irbid, Mafraq, and North Badia) (respectively, 15%, 18%, 10%, and 9%). Cases varied by month of occurrence; most cases (37; 64%) were from July to December and few cases (10; 17%) were from February to May.
Conclusions:
The increase in the incidence of reported and confirmed cases, especially after 2003, is of public health concern and efforts are being directed towards immediate implementation of effective control programs. Prevention of animal rabies, and subsequently human infections, will require the joint efforts of veterinary and public health officials in Jordan. Routine mass immunization, licensing of pet animals, and spay-neuter programs, especially in dogs, should reduce rabies cases and assist in rabies prevention. Such campaigns are underway in health directorates in north Jordan.

 

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Modeling Exposure Risk to Rabies in the Midwest

Modeling Exposure Risk to Rabies in the Midwest

Also from the EID document (board 361 pg 254)
Background:
Urbanization is a global phenomenon that alters the epidemiological landscape. To understand the altered epizootic potential of rabies in the Midwestern United States due to urban and suburban development, we are constructing a model of human exposure risk based on ecological parameters of the host species, striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), and current and predicted anthropogenic changes. As a first step towards model development, we are comparing habitat use, survival, and fecundity of striped skunks in urban and rural habitats. These data will allow us to estimate the number of susceptible animals and habitat-specific encounter rates in each environment.
Methods:
A total of 1482 trap nights were carried out on the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a tract of tall-grass prairie. Captured skunks were immobilized and fitted with a collar transmitter. Using triangulation methods, nighttime location data were collected.
Results:
Eight striped skunks were captured (3 females). Individual skunk movement ranged from 171 m to 2114 m between consecutive points with an average of 620 m. There was an average distance of 3633 m between locations of different skunks, ranging from 113 m to 7949 m. Of the traps, 16% were set in gallery forest, 73% were set in prairie and 11% were set near human habitation. Although only 11% of the traps were set within 500 m of human habitation, 38% of the skunks were trapped in these areas. The locations of these skunks were an average distance of 763 m from one another.
Conclusions:
Although trapping in the urban site has yet to begin, we are already observing the affinity of skunks for human habitation. Many urban adapted species occur at higher densities in urban environments and have increased contact rates as compared to rural areas. All movements of collared skunks near human building sites were less than 1.6 km of one another and multiple skunk captures in a single trap suggest home range overlap. Movements of skunks on prairie far from human sites were an average of 3.2 km from one another. The risk of rabies transmission increases with an increase in host contact rates and the risk of human exposure increases due to greater contact with companion animals. By comparing skunk ecology in urban and rural environments, we can develop vaccination strategies that reduce human exposure risk in urban areas.